Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Decreases Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 58.2%, now holding approximately 154,429 shares valued at about $74.87 million.
• Several institutional investors have adjusted their positions in Vertex, with GKV Capital Management increasing their holdings by 5.1% and Landscape Capital Management boosting theirs by 171.0% in the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a consensus price target of $497.10 for Vertex Pharmaceuticals, with a majority rating it as a "Moderate Buy."

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lessened its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 58.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 154,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 214,925 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.06% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $74,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.1% in the first quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 3,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,904,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $144,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 171.0% in the first quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 3,477 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,686,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194 shares during the last quarter. Oak Associates Ltd. OH increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the first quarter. Oak Associates Ltd. OH now owns 4,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,313,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oarsman Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.2% in the first quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 4,342 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 45,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial set a $490.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Guggenheim cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $558.00 to $546.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $497.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.3%

VRTX stock opened at $391.02 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $433.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $458.66. The stock has a market cap of $100.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95 and a beta of 0.44. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($12.83) earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current 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.

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