Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Acquired by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 16.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 148,653 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,329 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $72,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,491,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,388,985,000 after acquiring an additional 232,873 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,062,442 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,454,373,000 after purchasing an additional 744,680 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 72.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,917,227 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,414,331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226,527 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,833,889 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,141,277,000 after purchasing an additional 317,058 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,721,049 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,095,766,000 after purchasing an additional 355,057 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $395.12 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $519.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $438.99 and a 200-day moving average of $461.53. The company has a market capitalization of $101.31 billion, a PE ratio of 28.24 and a beta of 0.44.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%.The company had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($12.83) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. Truist Financial set a $490.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Erste Group Bank lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $497.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,535,600. This represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.