Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires Shares of 29,600 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 29,600 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,218,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% during the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 1,020 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.17, for a total value of $471,413.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 15,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,363,754.61. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,215 shares of company stock valued at $7,272,420. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $480.18 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $507.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.87 billion, a PE ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $441.18 and a 200-day moving average of $453.90.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.06 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Maxim Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.