Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Has $10.29 Million Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI trimmed its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 25.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,117 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 7,356 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $10,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the third quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,078 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $13,524,000 after buying an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 7,625 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,546,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% in the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 14,144 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,578,000 after acquiring an additional 2,538 shares during the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 123.0% during the third quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 4,579 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.5% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,467 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $12,309,000 after purchasing an additional 3,359 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $499.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.7 %

VRTX opened at $451.23 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $475.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $472.74. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $346.29 and a twelve month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,987,006. This represents a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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