Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) CAO Kristen Ambrose Sells 223 Shares

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 223 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total value of $108,456.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 6,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,395,209.35. This trade represents a 3.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Kristen Ambrose also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 11th, Kristen Ambrose sold 1,376 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total value of $633,551.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $487.02 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $519.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $465.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $431.13. The company has a market cap of $123.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.35 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The company had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on VRTX. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.00.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 39,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $17,378,000 after buying an additional 1,393 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 38,147 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $16,983,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,030,000. Advisory Resource Group bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,286,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 41.8% in the third quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 23,569 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,231,000 after purchasing an additional 6,942 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Positive leadership/PR — TIME profiled CEO Reshma Kewalramani, highlighting strong leadership and execution at Vertex, which supports investor confidence in long?term strategy. Physician-Scientist Reshma Kewalramani Runs One of Biotech’s Biggest Companies
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism — several firms have raised price targets and reiterated overweight/outperform ratings (consensus remains a Moderate Buy), providing support for the stock. MarketBeat VRTX analyst coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Fundamentals mixed but healthy — Q4 revenue grew ~9.5% y/y and margins remain strong, but EPS missed by $0.02 (reported $5.03 vs. $5.05 consensus), a small miss that tempers near?term upside but doesn’t change the long?term story. Vertex recent earnings summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Market attention/relative strength pieces highlight momentum — coverage asking whether VRTX is outperforming the Dow may attract momentum and quality buyers, but is not a new fundamental catalyst. Is Vertex Stock Outperforming the Dow?
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling — multiple executives sold shares on Feb. 19–25, most notably EVP Amit Sachdev (58,613 shares, ~ $27.5M) and several other EVPs/offsicers who reduced holdings; investors often interpret clustered senior?management sales as a negative near?term signal (though sales can reflect diversification or tax planning). Representative SEC filing for Amit Sachdev: SEC Form 4 – Amit Sachdev
• Negative Sentiment: Clustered executive sales reported in aggregation — multiple Form 4 disclosures (Feb. 25) were publicized by InsiderTrades/MarketBeat and are likely the proximate cause of today’s downward pressure. Vertex insider sales roundup

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.