Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 79,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,269 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $36,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,080,296,000 after purchasing an additional 244,336 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,422,677 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,135,556,000 after buying an additional 29,104 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 672,098 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $312,579,000 after buying an additional 6,716 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 666,212 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $312,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 662,957 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $310,768,000 after acquiring an additional 75,045 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $499.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.7 %

VRTX opened at $451.23 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $346.29 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -226.75 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $475.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $472.74.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,394. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.