Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $46.65 Million Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 115,847 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 6,126 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $46,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $337,000. Breed s Hill Capital LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $498,000. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 141.5% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 2,809 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,646 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 195.7% in the 4th quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 127,324 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $51,273,000 after purchasing an additional 84,266 shares during the period. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded up $0.82 on Thursday, hitting $445.92. The company had a trading volume of 271,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,413,938. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $472.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $461.84. The firm has a market cap of $114.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -202.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.76 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.04.

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.