Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Reduces Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 13.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,573 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 6,213 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $18,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $64,417,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 447,169 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $202,612,000 after acquiring an additional 86,084 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 130.2% during the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,341 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,421,000 after acquiring an additional 3,021 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 832,853 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $377,582,000 after acquiring an additional 69,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 63,945 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,043,000 after acquiring an additional 6,045 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,874 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,966. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $477.08 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $460.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $458.65. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $533.67. The company has a market cap of $121.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.06 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.