Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 40.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,623 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 10,780 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $2,933,000. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $721,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $10,059,000. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 58,077 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,856,000 after purchasing an additional 822 shares during the period. Finally, New England Research & Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $472,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VRTX. HC Wainwright lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $478.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $494.00 to $455.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $492.10.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $425.57 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a market cap of $109.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.42 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $401.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $431.57.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($12.83) EPS. Analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.