Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec Takes Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 13,042 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,478,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was 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 $7,400,102.50. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $541.69 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $502.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $468.67. The stock has a market cap of $137.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $374.17 and a fifty-two week high of $555.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.52 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $563.50.

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.