Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 147,511 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $60,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $397.48. The stock had a trading volume of 682,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,227,992. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.73 billion, a PE ratio of 28.63, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $320.01 and a twelve month high of $448.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $412.09 and its 200 day moving average is $398.37.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $429.45.

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.