National Pension Service Purchases 9,128 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 450,621 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,128 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.17% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $183,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $933,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 636 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 4th 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 during the period. Baystate Wealth Management LLC boosted 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 grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the third quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 4,375 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,521,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ VRTX traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $418.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 200,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,223,172. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $408.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $400.75. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $320.01 and a 52-week 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 $108.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $417.00 to $424.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and upped their price target for the company from $332.00 to $379.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $432.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the firm’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 $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 480 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.79, for a total value of $201,979.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,174,603.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.