Carmen Bozic Sells 596 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock

Key Points

• Vertex CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares on June 26 at an average price of $482.50, generating about $287,570. The sale reduced her ownership by 3.74% and was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
• Bozic has been actively selling shares recently, including multiple transactions in June and May that totaled millions of dollars in stock sales. After the latest sale, she still held 15,337 shares worth roughly $7.4 million.
• Vertex remains financially strong and well-regarded by analysts, reporting quarterly EPS of $4.47 that beat estimates while revenue rose 8.3% year over year. Analysts currently have a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total transaction of $287,570.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Thursday, June 18th, Carmen Bozic sold 1,020 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.17, for a total transaction of $471,413.40.
• On Monday, June 15th, Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,827,900.00.
• On Friday, June 5th, Carmen Bozic sold 1,745 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was 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 stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $2.92 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $496.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,662,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,460,316. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $507.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $443.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $454.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.06 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $580.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $555.91.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.

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