Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Has $13.82 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,473 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 99 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $13,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $485.37 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $125.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $483.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $450.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $341.85 and a 52-week high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.53 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,320,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total transaction of $1,075,521.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 30,099 shares in the company, valued at $14,198,300.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,047 shares of company stock worth $16,843,806 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VRTX. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $485.91.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.