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% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,840 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 6,386 shares during the quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $490.47 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $487.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $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 Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $514.91.

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.