Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Trims Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI cut its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,796 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 323 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $12,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,819,732.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.1 %

VRTX stock opened at $397.48 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $411.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $398.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.73 billion, a PE ratio of 28.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $320.01 and a 12 month high of $448.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VRTX. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $371.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Maxim Group lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $429.45.

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.