Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Cuts Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTXFree Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 59,016 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,553 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $26,755,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the third 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 stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp boosted 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 during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,739,600. This represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,717 shares of company stock valued at $5,309,945. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $542.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

View Our Latest Report on VRTX

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $447.54 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $507.92. The company has a market cap of $113.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.54, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $439.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $451.85.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTXGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.99 earnings per share for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)

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