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 company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $504.77 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $457.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $462.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company has a market cap of $129.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -229.44, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,274,000. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,061,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,995 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $803,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $894,000. Finally, Lighthouse Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,492,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

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.