Investment Management Corp of Ontario Buys 2,600 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 12.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,585 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $10,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $504.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $465.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $472.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $475.06. 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 12 month low of $347.51 and a 12 month high of $519.88.

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