Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,642 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 681 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 399 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 104.5% in the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 137 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 107.0% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 20,555 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,592,000 after acquiring an additional 10,624 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 5,348 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,236,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cercano Management LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the first quarter. Cercano Management LLC now owns 70,533 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,483,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $465.70 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $119.93 billion, a PE ratio of -234.02 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $476.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $471.06. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $341.90 and a 52 week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. This trade represents a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VRTX shares. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $499.12.

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.