Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP Joy Liu Sells 978 Shares

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP Joy Liu sold 978 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.17, for a total value of $439,288.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,833 shares in the company, valued at $9,806,728.61. This represents a 4.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock remained flat at $438.71 during mid-day trading on Friday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,244,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,547,068. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $510.77. The company has a market capitalization of $111.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.62, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $468.38 and a 200 day moving average of $443.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $570.00 to $596.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Evercore upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $554.30.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,155 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 5,026 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.