Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) SVP Paul M. Silva Sells 1,289 Shares

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) SVP Paul M. Silva sold 1,289 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.80, for a total value of $195,670.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 17,923 shares in the company, valued at $2,720,711.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ VRTX) traded up 0.33% during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $154.54. 807,795 shares of the company traded hands. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $71.46 and a one year high of $167.85. The company’s 50-day moving average is $137.73 and its 200-day moving average is $111.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 148.45 and a beta of 1.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.33. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 4.64%. The business had revenue of $544.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $489.95 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post $1.59 EPS for the current year.

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Korea Investment CORP boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 225.3% in the first quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 950 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the first quarter. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America now owns 956 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.1% in the first quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co now owns 1,500 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $186,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $197,000. 94.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Vetr cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating and set a $102.58 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $130.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Zacks Investment Research lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 10th. Jefferies Group LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $126.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, June 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is engaged in discovering, developing, manufacturing and commercializing medicines for serious diseases. The Company is focused on developing and commercializing therapies for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) and advancing its research and development programs in other indications.