Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Trims Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,472 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 6,769 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up 0.5% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $33,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ now owns 1,794 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $841,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the second quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. RFP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 158 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of VRTX traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $468.00. 1,090,355 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,205,450. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. The firm has a market cap of $120.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.37 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $341.85 and a 52-week high of $510.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $483.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $448.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Edward Morrow Atkinson III sold 7,288 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.00, for a total value of $3,483,664.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,972 shares in the company, valued at $7,634,616. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Edward Morrow Atkinson III sold 7,288 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.00, for a total value of $3,483,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,972 shares in the company, valued at $7,634,616. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total transaction of $1,075,521.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 30,099 shares in the company, valued at $14,198,300.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,615 shares of company stock valued at $21,417,310 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $485.91.

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.