State of Wisconsin Investment Board Raises Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (VRTX)

State of Wisconsin Investment Board boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 93.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 368,331 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 177,510 shares during the period. State of Wisconsin Investment Board owned approximately 0.15% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $47,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,328 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Princeton Alpha Management LP purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $383,000. Teachers Advisors LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 48.6% in the first quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC now owns 510,373 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $55,809,000 after buying an additional 166,998 shares during the period. Dynamic Capital Management Ltd increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 53.8% in the first quarter. Dynamic Capital Management Ltd now owns 39,614 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,332,000 after buying an additional 13,853 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 27.4% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 878,809 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $96,098,000 after buying an additional 189,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.89% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (VRTX) opened at 154.49 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $71.46 and a 12 month high of $167.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $144.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.95 billion, a PE ratio of 148.41 and a beta of 1.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $544.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $489.95 million. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 4.64% and a net margin of 12.05%. The company’s revenue was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post $1.60 earnings per share for the current year.

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VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cowen and Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Jefferies Group LLC initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, July 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. Credit Suisse Group increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $125.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Barclays PLC reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective (up previously from $90.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Sunday, April 23rd. Finally, Vetr downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating and set a $102.62 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.88.

In other news, CEO Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 147,101 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.50, for a total value of $19,049,579.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 312,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,422,389. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 216,624 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.96, for a total value of $34,867,799.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 400,266 shares in the company, valued at $64,426,815.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 751,042 shares of company stock worth $113,078,257 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is engaged in discovering, developing, manufacturing and commercializing medicines for serious diseases. The Company is focused on developing and commercializing therapies for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) and advancing its research and development programs in other indications.