Truist Financial Corp Has $91.70 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Truist Financial Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 225,356 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,707 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $91,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,983,356 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,644,492,000 after buying an additional 87,397 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,944,913 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,605,146,000 after buying an additional 147,248 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,870,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $998,050,000 after buying an additional 89,217 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,813,563 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $978,388,000 after buying an additional 131,539 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,016,780 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $701,315,000 after buying an additional 67,451 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, hitting $397.48. 682,467 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 909,553. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $411.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $398.67. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $320.01 and a 1-year high of $448.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.