PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Has $31.66 Million Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 78,622 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 807 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $31,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Edgewood Management LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% during the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $719,186,000 after buying an additional 1,526,983 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $435,899,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,581,373,000 after buying an additional 851,054 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,231,858,000 after buying an additional 704,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 169.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 839,672 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $338,136,000 after buying an additional 528,029 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX traded up $7.08 on Wednesday, hitting $495.42. 1,368,655 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,487,280. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $453.85 and a 200-day moving average of $461.58. 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 Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $127.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -225.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.