Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stock: Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Raises Stake

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 14.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,568 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,941 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Pingora Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Daiwa Securities Group increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $556.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $665.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $596.44.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $542.62 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $522.75 and a 200-day moving average of $483.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.58 billion, a PE ratio of 34.92, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $412.27 and a 12 month high of $568.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.82 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.98% and a net margin of 30.70%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1989, it develops medicines for serious diseases, with a long-standing focus on cystic fibrosis (CF). Vertex’s CF treatments include medicines that target the underlying protein defect, such as Trikafta/Kaftrio, Alyftrek, Kalydeco, Orkambi and Symdeko/Symkevi. The company also markets Journavx, a non-opioid medicine for acute pain, and partnered with CRISPR Therapeutics to develop Casgevy, a gene-editing treatment for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia.