TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Acquires 6,386 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 260.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,840 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,386 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,374,948,000. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $731,283,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,406,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,993 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,199,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgewood Management LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 91.2% during the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,956,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,190,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410,238 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Scotiabank increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $514.91.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $490.47 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The business has a 50 day moving average of $487.81 and a 200 day moving average of $465.64. The company has a market capitalization of $125.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -222.94, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.