State of Alaska Department of Revenue Lowers Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• The State of Alaska Department of Revenue has reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.7%, owning 45,255 shares valued at approximately $20.15 million after selling 1,250 shares.
• Many hedge funds have significantly increased their positions in Vertex Pharmaceuticals, with GAMMA Investing LLC alone boosting its stake by 60,572.3% to own over 2.4 million shares.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals has recently received mixed analyst ratings, with some upgrades and downgrades; the company currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $493.81.

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,255 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 1,250 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $20,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,175,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,421,073 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,917,227 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,414,331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226,527 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $484,053,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,062,442 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,454,373,000 after purchasing an additional 744,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,775,194 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $860,650,000 after buying an additional 398,460 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,535,600. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $485.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $411.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $493.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $385.73 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $406.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $446.60. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $519.88. The company has a market cap of $98.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.57 and a beta of 0.44.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%.The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($12.83) EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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