Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP Charles Wagner, Jr. Sells 14,000 Shares

Key Points

  • EVP Charles Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 Vertex shares on December 3 at an average of $456, generating about $6.38 million and reducing his holding by 27.07% to 37,725 shares (valued at ~$17.20 million).
  • Vertex beat quarterly expectations on November 3 with $4.80 EPS vs. $4.58 est. and revenue of $3.08 billion (up 11% year-over-year), with a net margin of 31.35% and ROE of 23.51%.
  • The company has a market capitalization of ~$115.6 billion and a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating from analysts with an average price target of $498.25.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) EVP Charles Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total value of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.4%

VRTX stock opened at $455.48 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $519.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $422.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $425.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.56 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12 and a beta of 0.32.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.38 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals




Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.9% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 410 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $199,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% in the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 273 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,775,194 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $860,650,000 after purchasing an additional 398,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $12,858,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $423.00 to $415.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $553.00 to $546.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $498.25.

Get Our Latest Research Report on VRTX

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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