VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Buys Shares of 94,060 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems purchased 94,060 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth approximately $46.7 million, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 90.96% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with one Strong Buy, 20 Buy, and two Hold ratings; the consensus price target is $569.52.
• Vertex reported quarterly revenue of $3.33 billion, up 12.5% year over year and above estimates, though earnings of $4.73 per share narrowly missed expectations.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 94,060 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $46,722,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Community Financial Services Group LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on VRTX. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $569.52.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $546.12 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $374.17 and a 12-month high of $560.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $509.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $471.33. The stock has a market cap of $138.61 billion, a PE ratio of 31.79, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.32.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.52 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,827,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,628,850. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,793,071.79. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 8,719 shares of company stock worth $4,174,147 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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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