Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Buys 20,523 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 23.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,251 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,523 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $48,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $477.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $121.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $533.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $465.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $459.80.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.06 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.