Royal Bank of Canada Trims Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 14.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,111,871 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 182,641 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.44% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $496,496,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 414.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 14,036 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,363,000 after buying an additional 11,306 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.1% in the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 77,886 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,779,000 after acquiring an additional 33,917 shares in the last quarter. Sandro Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,436,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.9% during the first quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. now owns 34,991 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $15,625,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LBP AM SA boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 51.8% during the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 67,197 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,464,000 after acquiring an additional 22,918 shares in 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 recently commented on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.4%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $490.39 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $124.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $467.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $459.99. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $533.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. 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 prior year, the company earned $4.06 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,739,600. This represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.