Washington Trust Bank Sells 3,603 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Washington Trust Bank decreased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 14.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 21,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,603 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $10,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Community Financial Services Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on VRTX. Weiss Ratings downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.1%

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $541.69 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $374.17 and a 52 week high of $555.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.53, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $502.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $468.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.52 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their position. 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 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.