State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 9,402 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,853 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 9,402 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $14,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% in the third quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 160,605 shares of company stock valued at $71,721,068. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.80.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of VRTX opened at $469.68 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $519.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $442.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $427.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.12 and a beta of 0.31.

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

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.