Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Has $12.28 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 17.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,167 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,497 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $12,275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,819,732.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total transaction of $1,114,218.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 27,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,596,934.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $371.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ VRTX traded down $2.97 on Thursday, reaching $397.79. The company had a trading volume of 53,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,225,375. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $316.43 and a 1 year high of $448.40. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $102.81 billion, a PE ratio of 28.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $412.66 and a 200-day moving average of $398.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.