Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 195.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 127,324 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 84,266 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $51,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.6% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,986,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.1% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,081 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 140.0% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 6,242 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,514,000 after acquiring an additional 3,641 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,357 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,813 shares of company stock valued at $1,889,514. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $447.18 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -203.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $480.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $464.03.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.76 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.04.

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.