Simplify Asset Management Inc. Sells 9,556 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Simplify Asset Management cut its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 54.6% in the first quarter, selling 9,556 shares and ending with 7,936 shares valued at about $3.54 million.
• Insider selling has also been active: director Sangeeta N. Bhatia and CMO Carmen Bozic both sold shares in recent 10b5-1 transactions, and insiders sold a total of 15,833 shares worth about $7.12 million over the past three months.
• Despite the selling, analysts remain broadly positive on VRTX, with 21 Buy ratings and four Hold ratings; the consensus price target is $555.91, while the stock recently traded near its 52-week high after a better-than-expected quarterly earnings report.

Simplify Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 54.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,936 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 9,556 shares during the quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its position 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,739,600. The trade was a 21.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 15,833 shares of company stock worth $7,120,702 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $542.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $580.00 price target on the stock. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $528.04 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $529.14. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $449.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $456.46. The firm has a market cap of $134.02 billion, a PE ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.06 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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