Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,446 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 124 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $9,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total transaction of $7,555,394.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,767,484. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total transaction of $7,555,394.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,767,484. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total value 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 approximately $14,198,300.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,047 shares of company stock worth $16,843,806 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $474.16 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $341.85 and a 1-year high of $510.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $483.42 and a 200-day moving average of $451.40. The company has a market capitalization of $122.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.53 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VRTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.