State of Wisconsin Investment Board Decreases Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• State of Wisconsin Investment Board reduced its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,440 shares and ending with 137,909 shares valued at about $62.5 million.
• Vertex reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.47 per share, topping estimates, while revenue came in at $2.99 billion and rose 8.3% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with 22 Buy ratings and 3 Hold ratings; the consensus view is “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $555.91, even though one firm recently downgraded the stock to Hold.

State of Wisconsin Investment Board cut its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 137,909 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 10,440 shares during the period. State of Wisconsin Investment Board owned approximately 0.05% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $62,522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,484,293,000 after purchasing an additional 243,088 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,850,544,000 after purchasing an additional 763,063 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,689,539 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,299,569,000 after purchasing an additional 83,539 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,733,596 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,146,041,000 after purchasing an additional 44,537 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,522,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,771,226,000 after purchasing an additional 144,266 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $453.17 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $507.92. The stock has a market cap of $115.01 billion, a PE ratio of 26.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $437.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $452.82.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.06 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Maxim Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $555.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were 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 approximately $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 1,745 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $785,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 21,015 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,456,750. This trade represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 11,133 shares of company stock worth $4,973,106 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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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