Toronto Dominion Bank Sells 26,368 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Toronto Dominion Bank reduced its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,834 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 26,368 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $43,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $11,406,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,993 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,366,113,000 after buying an additional 98,654 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,199,713,000 after buying an additional 1,426,746 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,382,407,000 after buying an additional 1,117,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,519,302,000 after acquiring an additional 704,575 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $515.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,825,928.26. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,813 shares of company stock valued at $1,889,514. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $6.52 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $447.18. 1,510,440 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,412,201. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $480.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $464.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.83 billion, a PE ratio of -203.26, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.76 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.