Insider Selling: Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Director Sells $2,689,860.00 in Stock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $494.46 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.09 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $479.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $439.81. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.36% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Baystate Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on 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 assigned a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $472.23.

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.