94,060 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Acquired by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 94,060 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,722,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,311,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $546.12 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $509.50 and a 200-day moving average of $471.33. The company has a market cap of $138.61 billion, a PE ratio of 31.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $374.17 and a one year high of $560.25.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.52 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total transaction of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan McKechnie sold 1,541 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% 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. Insiders sold a total of 8,719 shares of company stock worth $4,174,147 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $653.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $569.52.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.