North Dakota State Investment Board Takes $4 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 8,821 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,999,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,836,550,000 after buying an additional 2,053,156 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,553,281 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,482,978,000 after purchasing an additional 444,990 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 520.1% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 381,195 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $149,291,000 after purchasing an additional 319,725 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,484,293,000 after purchasing an additional 243,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $94,958,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,739,600. This represents a 21.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 79,802 shares of company stock valued at $37,402,568. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $555.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $436.95 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $507.92. The business has a 50-day moving average of $445.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $450.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.06 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.