New York State Common Retirement Fund Trims Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 345,796 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 16,538 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.13% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $167,649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 75,537 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $36,622,000 after buying an additional 930 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,837 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,830,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. IFC Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $269,000. Draper Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Draper Asset Management LLC now owns 6,431 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,118,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,012 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,544,000 after purchasing an additional 1,239 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.2%

NASDAQ VRTX traded down $10.68 on Friday, reaching $468.85. 892,738 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,426,652. The business's fifty day moving average price is $447.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $460.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -119.60 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 3.36% and a negative net margin of 8.91%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.76 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VRTX. Wolfe Research cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Leerink Partners reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $503.00 price target (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $420.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Erste Group Bank cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $511.62.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.