Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) CMO Sells 1,020 Shares

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) CMO Carmen Bozic sold 1,020 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.17, for a total transaction of $471,413.40. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 15,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,754.61. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Monday, June 15th, Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction 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 transaction 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 transaction of $3,144,600.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX traded up $1.63 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $468.42. The company had a trading volume of 1,203,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,391,024. The company has a market capitalization of $118.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $439.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $453.56. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $507.92.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,155 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cannell & Spears LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $885,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

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.