Insider Selling: Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) CEO Sells 15,202 Shares of Stock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total transaction of $7,555,394.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,767,484. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Reshma Kewalramani also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 24th, Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total transaction of $715,205.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.1 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $490.80. 950,201 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,208,669. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a current ratio of 3.50. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $498.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.82, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $471.08 and its 200-day moving average is $435.99.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 39.46% and a return on equity of 23.08%. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 13.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 1,839 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $862,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. My Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,221,000. &PARTNERS bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $893,000. MN Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. MN Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,663 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $79,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VRTX shares. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $460.30.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.