Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan Has $2.94 Million Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan increased its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 59.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 2,420 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 6,474 shares valued at about $2.94 million.
• Vertex reported solid quarterly results, with earnings of $4.47 per share topping estimates and revenue of $2.99 billion matching expectations. Revenue also rose 8.3% year over year.
• Analysts remain bullish on VRTX, with several firms raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at Moderate Buy with an average target price of $555.17. Insiders also sold shares recently, including EVP Jonathan Biller and CMO Carmen Bozic.

Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 59.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,474 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 2,420 shares during the quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,484,293,000 after acquiring an additional 243,088 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,553,281 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,482,978,000 after acquiring an additional 444,990 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,836,550,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053,156 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,522,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,771,226,000 after acquiring an additional 144,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,276,927 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $891,744,000 after acquiring an additional 95,565 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $436.95 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $445.56 and a 200 day moving average of $450.61. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $507.92. The firm has a market cap of $110.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.06 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on VRTX. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $580.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $555.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 945 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $459,600.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,659 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,643,054.65. The trade was a 6.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,739,600. The trade was a 21.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 79,802 shares of company stock worth $37,402,568. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex's marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.

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