Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTX) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.03.

In related news, Director Joshua S. Boger sold 5,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.02, for a total value of $415,632.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 270,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,908,942.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Joshua S. Boger sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.81, for a total value of $577,265.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 274,725 shares in the company, valued at $24,398,327.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) traded up 1.08% on Wednesday, hitting $96.01. The stock had a trading volume of 2,229,903 shares. The company’s 50-day moving average is $89.13 and its 200-day moving average is $87.50. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $75.90 and a one year high of $143.45. The stock’s market cap is $23.75 billion.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $128.00 price target (down from $144.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Sunday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $140.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 1st. Maxim Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 7th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, April 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $123.11.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is engaged in the business of discovering, developing, manufacturing and commercializing medicines for serious diseases. The Company operates in pharmaceuticals segment. Its business is focused on developing and commercializing therapies for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) and advancing its research and development programs in other indications.