Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Chairman Sells $1,888,216.00 in Stock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $468.00 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $483.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $448.38. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $341.85 and a 1 year high of $510.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. The company has a market capitalization of $120.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.37 and a beta of 0.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.53 EPS. Analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $485.91.

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.