Insider Selling: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP Sells 58,613 Shares of Stock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP Amit Sachdev sold 58,613 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.83, for a total value of $27,479,532.79. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,934 shares in the company, valued at $27,630,027.22. This trade represents a 49.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Amit Sachdev also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, February 25th, Amit Sachdev sold 1,846 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $897,802.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $480.13 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $121.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.32 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $465.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $431.13. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.68.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $590.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. HC Wainwright set a $591.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $606.00 to $607.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.00.

Key Vertex Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Profile of CEO Reshma Kewalramani in TIME highlights strong leadership and continued R&D momentum, which can support investor confidence in Vertex’s long-term pipeline and strategy. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary noting Vertex’s relative performance vs. the Dow suggests the stock still has investor interest and can attract momentum buyers after pullbacks. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: General coverage in Nasdaq-100 roundup pieces points to continued attention from index investors and analysts — useful for liquidity and index-fund flows but not an immediate catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent Q4 results (Feb 12) showed revenue growth (~9.5% y/y) but a tiny EPS miss ($5.03 vs. $5.05 consensus). Fundamentals remain strong, but the small miss tempers near-term upside until forward guidance or pipeline news arrives. (Earnings release/public filings)
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insider sales by several senior execs on Feb 25 — including large disposals such as EVP Duncan McKechnie (4,910 shares; ~21.9% reduction) and several other EVPs/CAO — collectively amount to roughly $4.6M in disclosed sales. Clustered insider selling can trigger short-term selling pressure and signals profit-taking or personal liquidity needs rather than company weakness, but markets often interpret heavy insider sales as a negative near-term indicator. SEC Filing (example)

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,155 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in the second quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $570,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.