Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 386,648 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,747 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.15% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $161,623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Telos Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,073 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,368 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $990,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.4% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 29,897 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,497,000 after buying an additional 3,999 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 216.3% in the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 4,830 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,965,000 after buying an additional 3,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenwood Capital Associates LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 25,345 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,313,000 after buying an additional 2,576 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $460.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX traded up $3.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $495.26. 774,126 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,047,785. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $474.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $437.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $340.20 and a 52-week high of $503.99. The company has a market cap of $127.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 39.46% and a return on equity of 23.08%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.46, for a total value of $1,113,688.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,474,779.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.46, for a total value of $1,113,688.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,474,779.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total transaction of $1,031,908.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,502,484.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 48,128 shares of company stock valued at $22,839,005. 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.