BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Boosts Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 60.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,474 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,605 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $23,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,761,414 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,479,011,000 after acquiring an additional 394,338 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,080,296,000 after buying an additional 244,336 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $462.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $119.50 billion, a PE ratio of 30.04 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $341.85 and a 1-year high of $510.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $481.53 and a 200-day moving average of $453.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.53 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $486.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total transaction of $7,555,394.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,767,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,767 shares of company stock valued at $15,768,284 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.