Insider Selling: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Chairman Sells 19,688 Shares of Stock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Chairman Jeffrey Leiden sold 19,688 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $440.27, for a total transaction of $8,668,035.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,577,927.02. The trade was a 45.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $3.13 during trading on Monday, reaching $434.02. 1,304,492 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,608,769. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $408.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $426.73. The firm has a market cap of $110.12 billion, a PE ratio of 31.02 and a beta of 0.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%.The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.38 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $558.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $553.00 to $546.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $439.00 to $438.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $423.00 to $415.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $491.95.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $264,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,452 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,613,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 2,181 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth approximately $211,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

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.