Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Sells 10,912 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Royal London Asset Management reduced its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 4.3%, selling 10,912 shares and retaining 241,280 shares valued at approximately $119.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 90.96% of the company.
• Vertex reported quarterly revenue of $3.33 billion, up 12.5% year over year, though earnings of $4.73 per share narrowly missed analyst expectations. Shares opened at $541.69, near their 12-month high.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $563.50. Company insiders sold 10,464 shares worth roughly $5.0 million over the past 90 days.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 4.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 241,280 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 10,912 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.10% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $119,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,975,849,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $1,440,149,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $1,509,651,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $26,725,000. Finally, Solas Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $20,311,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of VRTX opened at $541.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.53, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $374.17 and a twelve month high of $555.69. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $502.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $468.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VRTX. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $563.50.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,827,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 16,953 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,628,850. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.

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