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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX traded up $7.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $495.42. 1,362,214 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,476,329. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $451.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $461.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.22 billion, a PE ratio of -225.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

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Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,995 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $803,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $894,000. Lighthouse Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $1,492,000. IronOak Wealth LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $623,000. Finally, TFR Capital LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,837,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

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.

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