Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stake Boosted by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund 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 SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,440,149,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,521,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109,200 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,850,544,000 after buying an additional 763,063 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $166,317,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 520.1% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 381,195 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $149,291,000 after buying an additional 319,725 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $477.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a 50-day moving average of $465.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $459.80. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $533.67.

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

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,739,600. The trade was a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,966. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on VRTX. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Twenty-two equities research 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.