Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Acquired by Treasurer of the State of North Carolina

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 120,134 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,759 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $53,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Glenview Trust co increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% in the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 7,076 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,150,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC now owns 7,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,259,000 after buying an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 297,403 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $132,413,000 after acquiring an additional 16,259 shares during the last quarter. Frisch Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $719,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,311,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. This trade represents a 72.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total value of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,202,600. This trade represents a 27.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 151,073 shares of company stock worth $67,326,816 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $445.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $113.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.45 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $519.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $425.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $425.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $498.42.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.