Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,450,959 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 116,677 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.56% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $584,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,374,948,000. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $731,283,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,406,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,993 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,199,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgewood Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 91.2% during the 4th quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,956,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,190,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410,238 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,057 shares of company stock worth $2,000,549. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ VRTX traded up $2.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $440.66. 1,182,493 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,409,127. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $481.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $464.15. The stock has a market cap of $113.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -200.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.76 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

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.