Short Interest in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Rises By 27.5%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,820,000 shares, an increase of 27.5% from the April 30th total of 3,780,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,720,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 450.0% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $445.43 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $468.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $460.61. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -202.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.76 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partnrs cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Erste Group Bank cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $420.00 to $423.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.04.

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.