North Dakota State Investment Board Buys Shares of 8,821 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• North Dakota State Investment Board opened a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter, buying 8,821 shares worth about $4.0 million.
• Vertex also saw continued interest from large institutions, with firms like Vanguard, Capital Research Global Investors, and others increasing their stakes. Institutional investors now hold 90.96% of the company’s stock.
• The company recently posted solid quarterly results, with EPS of $4.47 beating estimates and revenue of $2.99 billion matching expectations. Analysts remain constructive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $555.17.

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 8,821 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $3,999,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,484,293,000 after buying an additional 243,088 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,553,281 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,482,978,000 after buying an additional 444,990 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,836,550,000 after buying an additional 2,053,156 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,522,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,771,226,000 after buying an additional 144,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,276,927 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $891,744,000 after buying an additional 95,565 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at $11,739,600. The trade was a 21.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 79,802 shares of company stock worth $37,402,568. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $436.95 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.30. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $445.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $450.61. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.06 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $590.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $580.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $555.17.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex's marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.

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