Insider Selling: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP Sells $439,288.26 in Stock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP Joy Liu sold 978 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.17, for a total transaction of $439,288.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,833 shares in the company, valued at $9,806,728.61. This represents a 4.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX remained flat at $438.71 during trading hours on Friday. 1,244,799 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,547,068. The company has a market cap of $111.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $510.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $468.38 and a 200-day moving average of $443.29.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $577.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $411.00 to $441.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $554.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.