Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP Ourania Tatsis Sells 530 Shares of Stock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Ourania Tatsis also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, February 18th, Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64.
• On Tuesday, February 11th, Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $479.79 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $123.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -218.09, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $440.39 and its 200 day moving average is $461.10. 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 Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arkadios Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $312,000. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,710 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 660 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,868 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,729,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.