Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP Ourania Tatsis Sells 244 Shares

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Ourania Tatsis also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, February 11th, Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $471.76 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $435.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $460.52. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.58 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,406,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,993 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,366,113,000 after buying an additional 98,654 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,495,501,000 after acquiring an additional 90,173 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,199,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,382,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,214 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price target for the company. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued 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 an average target price of $505.57.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.