South Dakota Investment Council Sells 10,780 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 40.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,623 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 10,780 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,933,000. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $721,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $10,059,000. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the second quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 58,077 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,856,000 after buying an additional 822 shares during the period. Finally, New England Research & Management Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $472,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on VRTX. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price 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. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $411.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Leerink Partners upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $458.00 to $456.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Truist Financial set a $490.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $492.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $425.57 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $401.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $431.57. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $109.11 billion, a PE ratio of 30.42 and a beta of 0.43.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%.The company’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($12.83) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.