Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Sells 9,892 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 35.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,016 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 9,892 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $423.00 to $415.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $458.00 to $456.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $498.42.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $455.71 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $427.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $425.53. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.14 and a beta of 0.32.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total transaction of $6,384,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,202,600. The trade was a 27.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 151,073 shares of company stock valued at $67,326,816. 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.