Ourania Tatsis Sells 530 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. The trade was a 0.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

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

• On Tuesday, February 18th, Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64.
• 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 transaction of $142,547.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of VRTX stock traded up $5.29 on Friday, hitting $479.79. 2,470,531 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,517,870. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $438.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $460.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.21 billion, a PE ratio of -218.09, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $320,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $172,000. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 1,630 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $136,720,000. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 121,600 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $48,968,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.