Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Sells 10,912 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 241,280 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 10,912 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $119,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,798,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% during the second quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan now owns 75,743 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,624,000 after purchasing an additional 4,280 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 676,247 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $335,813,000 after purchasing an additional 21,104 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,247,658 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,613,209,000 after purchasing an additional 35,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fox Hill Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $312,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $541.69 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $502.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $468.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.48 billion, a PE ratio of 31.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $374.17 and a 52-week high of $555.69.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,793,071.79. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.