OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Sells 1,213 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp decreased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,742 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,213 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 10,555 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,250,000 after buying an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 189,260 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $76,211,000 after buying an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6,487.2% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 526,119 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $211,867,000 after buying an additional 518,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,833,889 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,141,277,000 after acquiring an additional 317,058 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,005 shares of company stock worth $1,978,465. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $432.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -196.36, a P/E/G 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $486.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $465.33. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.76 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.