Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stock Position Reduced by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 14.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,111,871 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 182,641 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $496,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,155 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cannell & Spears LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $885,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $490.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $124.46 billion, a PE ratio of 29.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $533.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $467.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $459.99.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.06 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total transaction of $287,570.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.