New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $145.91 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 362,334 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 2,855 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.14% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $145,912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.2% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 560 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 872 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $600,000. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC now owns 896 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $417,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Trilogy Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 3,617 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,682,000 after buying an additional 748 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $3.91 on Friday, reaching $484.24. 1,444,007 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,541,286. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $124.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -220.11, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $435.64 and a 200 day moving average of $460.65.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $505.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. The trade was a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.