Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Reduces Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,932 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 980 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Quest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3,856.6% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 3,284 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,527,000 after buying an additional 3,201 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 830 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 40,653 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $18,907,000 after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 430.0% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 13,498 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,278,000 after purchasing an additional 10,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 96.3% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 997 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $512.52 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $464.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $462.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -232.96, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Oppenheimer cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy 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 $506.70.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.