Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP Sells $1,615,500.00 in Stock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $502.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $129.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -228.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $455.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $461.87.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Oppenheimer downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.