Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) CMO Carmen Bozic Sells 6,988 Shares

Key Points

• Vertex CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares on May 12 at an average price of $450.00, generating about $3.14 million in proceeds. The sale reduced her stake by 21.13% and was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
• Vertex recently delivered a strong quarterly earnings beat, reporting $4.47 per share versus expectations of $4.24. Revenue came in at $2.99 billion, up 8.3% year over year, while the company maintained high profitability with a 35.51% net margin.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on VRTX, with several firms raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at “Moderate Buy.” The stock was trading around $450.41, near its 200-day moving average.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Friday, March 13th, Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total transaction of $1,122,088.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock traded down $2.65 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $450.41. 1,088,233 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,383,058. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $507.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.31 billion, a PE ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.30. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $446.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $450.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.06 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,155 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 5,026 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,279,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Maxim Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Evercore boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $555.17.

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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