Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Acquires 3,882 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,728 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 3,882 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $39,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $64,417,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 544,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $213,435,000 after buying an additional 20,053 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $956,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,247,566 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $880,237,000 after purchasing an additional 92,402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 447,169 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $202,612,000 after purchasing an additional 86,084 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,739,600. The trade was a 21.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,133 shares of company stock valued at $4,973,106. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $444.92 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $507.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $437.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $452.53. The firm has a market cap of $112.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.06 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

More Vertex Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Vertex received bullish attention from market commentary highlighting that Wall Street remains interested in the stock despite a bearish “death cross” technical setup, suggesting investors are focusing more on the company’s fundamentals than the chart pattern. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced new CASGEVY data at the European Hematology Association Congress, including the first European presentation of results in children ages 5–11 and additional global regulatory submissions, which could support longer-term growth for the gene-editing therapy. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and media coverage have been broadly upbeat on Vertex, including pieces describing it as a favored healthcare stock and a stock some investors view as attractive to buy now, reinforcing confidence in the name. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group slightly lowered its FY2027 EPS estimate for Vertex to $19.24 from $19.36, a small revision that may not materially change the long-term outlook but is a minor headwind for sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The stock has also experienced a recent pullback in some sessions, reflecting normal volatility and some profit-taking even as the broader narrative remains constructive. Article Title

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.