BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Has $51.27 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 195.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,324 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 84,266 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $51,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,236 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $900,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 1,235 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,807,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,603 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,451,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,825,928.26. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,813 shares of company stock worth $1,889,514. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of VRTX stock traded up $1.97 on Monday, hitting $436.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,427,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,416,571. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $476.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $462.63. The firm has a market cap of $111.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -198.18, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.76 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.