Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) CMO Sells $287,570.00 in Stock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total value of $287,570.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,400,102.50. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Carmen Bozic also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, June 18th, Carmen Bozic sold 1,020 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.17, for a total value of $471,413.40.
• On Monday, June 15th, Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,827,900.00.
• On Friday, June 5th, Carmen Bozic sold 1,745 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $785,250.00.
• On Tuesday, May 12th, Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.6%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $2.92 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $496.73. 1,662,339 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,460,316. The company has a market capitalization of $126.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $443.45 and its 200 day moving average is $454.68. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.06 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 target price on the stock. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $1,440,149,000. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,836,550,000 after buying an additional 2,053,156 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,521,851,000 after buying an additional 1,109,200 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,850,544,000 after acquiring an additional 763,063 shares during the period. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $166,317,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.