Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP David Altshuler Sells 3,231 Shares

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $495.42 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $453.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $461.58. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -225.19, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released 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 return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,510,000. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,324,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $662,000. Finally, Davidson Investment Advisors raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,630,000 after buying an additional 12,631 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

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.