Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $48.71 Million in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTXFree Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 98,068 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,713,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRTX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,975,849,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $1,440,149,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $1,509,651,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $26,725,000. Finally, Solas Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $20,311,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,827,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,628,850. The trade was a 19.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $547.55 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $374.17 and a 1 year high of $555.69. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $500.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $468.15. The firm has a market cap of $138.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTXGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $563.50.

Read Our Latest Research Report on VRTX

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

(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.

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

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