Arizona State Retirement System Purchases 930 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 75,537 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 930 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $36,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 46.2% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 95 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded down $8.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $464.20. 988,008 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,422,130. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $119.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -118.42 and a beta of 0.41. The business's fifty day moving average price is $447.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $461.56.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 3.36% and a negative net margin of 8.91%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.76 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VRTX. Wolfe Research downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $464.00 to $460.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $511.71.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.