New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $166.43 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 409,026 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 32,708 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.16% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $166,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $933,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 636 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 800 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the third quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 4,375 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Maxim Group cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price target on the stock. Three equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $429.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX traded up $5.64 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $399.92. 1,393,853 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,248,320. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $316.43 and a one year high of $448.40. The firm has a market cap of $103.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.79, a PEG ratio of 1.86 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $413.23 and a 200-day moving average of $398.05.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.