Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Bought by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,942 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,517 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $32,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $559.61.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,739,600. The trade was a 21.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,446.52. The trade was a 6.07% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $477.36 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $533.67. The company has a market cap of $121.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $465.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $459.80.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.06 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.