Retirement Systems of Alabama Buys 15,630 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 249,987 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 15,630 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.10% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $101,717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $933,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 636 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 800 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the third quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 4,375 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,521,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $397.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 682,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 909,553. The company has a market cap of $102.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.62, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $411.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $399.17. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $320.01 and a 52-week high of $448.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $577,409.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,066,242.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total transaction of $1,114,218.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 27,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,596,934.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $577,409.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,066,242.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $515.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.