Carmen Bozic Sells 4,062 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,827,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,628,850. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Carmen Bozic also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, June 5th, Carmen Bozic sold 1,745 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $785,250.00.
• On Tuesday, May 12th, Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $451.63 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $507.92. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $438.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $453.14. The company has a market cap of $114.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% during the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Vertex remains fundamentally strong, with its last reported quarter beating EPS estimates and revenue rising 8.3% year over year, while analysts still broadly rate the stock a moderate buy with a consensus target above the current share price.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company has continued to attract investor attention as a “trending” biotech name, but the recent articles do not cite any new pipeline, regulatory, or earnings catalyst to explain a bigger move.
• Negative Sentiment: CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares at $450 each under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, and the insider transaction may be contributing to cautious trading in VRTX. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage notes the stock has been slipping even as the broader market gained, suggesting investors may be taking profits or reassessing valuation after the latest run-up. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on VRTX. Barclays upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $542.00 price target for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

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.