Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 60.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,597 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 8,505 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% during the third quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on VRTX. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $455.00 to $546.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $522.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $469.90 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $519.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.14 and a beta of 0.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $453.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $427.28.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total value of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. This represents a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 165,105 shares of company stock worth $73,858,523. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.