Retirement Systems of Alabama Acquires 15,630 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 249,987 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,630 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.10% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $101,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $397.48. The company had a trading volume of 682,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 909,553. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $411.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $398.93. The company has a market capitalization of $102.73 billion, a PE ratio of 28.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $320.01 and a one year high of $448.40.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $429.45.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.