Strs Ohio Decreases Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Strs Ohio cut its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 78,278 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,347 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $35,488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% during the third quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 74 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $423.92 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.65, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.30. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $453.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $449.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $509.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.98 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $577.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $606.00 to $607.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $554.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Joy Liu sold 978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.17, for a total transaction of $439,288.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,806,728.61. The trade was a 4.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total value of $301,537.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,542,573.40. This trade represents a 7.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 80,431 shares of company stock valued at $37,875,167 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.