Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Purchases 20,523 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 23.4% in Q1, buying 20,523 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 108,251 shares worth about $48.3 million.
• Vertex reported better-than-expected earnings for its latest quarter, with EPS of $4.47 versus estimates of $4.24 and revenue of $2.99 billion, up 8.3% year over year.
• Despite some insider selling, Wall Street remains upbeat on the stock, with 22 Buy ratings, 3 Hold ratings, and a consensus price target of about $559.61.

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 23.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 108,251 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,523 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $48,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $477.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $121.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.29. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $465.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $459.80. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $533.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.06 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total transaction of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 18,874 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,966 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRTX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.