Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stake Raised by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

by · The Markets Daily

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX – Free Report) by 12.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 166,450 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,797 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $74,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 515.4% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 80 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $423.00 to $415.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $498.42.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on VRTX

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $452.04 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $426.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $425.75. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $519.68. The company has a market capitalization of $114.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.88 and a beta of 0.32.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. This trade represents a 72.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total transaction of $6,384,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 151,073 shares of company stock worth $67,326,816 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

(Free Report)

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.

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