Teacher Retirement System of Texas Decreases Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its stake in Vertex by 6.4%, selling 7,638 shares in Q4 and now holds 111,010 shares valued at about $50.33 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers — executives executed notable sales and insiders sold 80,431 shares worth $37.9 million in the past three months, leaving insiders with 0.20% ownership.
• Wall Street has a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average price target of $555 while the stock trades near $437.67, has a market cap of $111.3 billion, and posted quarterly EPS of $5.03 (missed by $0.02).

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,010 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 7,638 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $50,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Leerink Partners upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $546.00 to $541.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $580.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $555.00.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 945 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total value of $459,600.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,659 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,643,054.65. This represents a 6.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total transaction of $2,394,361.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,562,646.35. The trade was a 21.85% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 80,431 shares of company stock worth $37,875,167. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $437.67 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $459.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $448.46. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $510.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.33 billion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.77 EPS for the current year.

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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