State of Alaska Department of Revenue Has $18.28 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Rating) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,310 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 6,940 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $18,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 27.1% during the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,753,011 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,720,832,000 after buying an additional 3,571,298 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 168.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,755,821 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,377,000,000 after buying an additional 2,983,253 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,342,112 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,223,563,000 after buying an additional 826,959 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 232.3% during the 2nd quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 933,179 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $262,961,000 after buying an additional 652,321 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5,017.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 387,858 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $112,300,000 after acquiring an additional 380,279 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.6 %

VRTX stock traded down $4.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $295.77. 1,675,984 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,006,545. The stock has a market cap of $76.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 4.66, a current ratio of 4.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $233.01 and a fifty-two week high of $325.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $299.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $299.14.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.65. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 27.78% and a net margin of 37.20%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.18 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 12.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 5,034 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.47, for a total value of $1,447,123.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 56,556 shares in the company, valued at $16,258,153.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 5,034 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.47, for a total value of $1,447,123.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 56,556 shares in the company, valued at $16,258,153.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.05, for a total value of $3,150,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 89,598 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,227,849.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,916 shares of company stock worth $12,466,970 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, December 19th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $311.00 price objective for the company. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, SVB Leerink lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $374.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a global biotechnology company, which engages in the business of discovering, developing, manufacturing, and commercializing small molecule drugs for patients with serious diseases. The firm focuses on development and commercializing therapies for the treatment of cystic fibrosis, infectious diseases including viral infections such as influenza and bacterial infections, autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease and neurological disorders including pain and multiple sclerosis.