Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Grows Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 107.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,065 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,375 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $22,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,581,373,000 after buying an additional 851,054 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,905,705 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,351,385,000 after acquiring an additional 159,693 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,422,677 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,135,556,000 after acquiring an additional 29,104 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,626,347 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $756,381,000 after acquiring an additional 20,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgewood Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% during the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $719,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526,983 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $504.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.8 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $3.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $468.13. 770,568 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,189,915. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $347.51 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -235.24 and a beta of 0.39. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $472.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $474.48.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 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.