Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Short Interest Update

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,460,000 shares, a decline of 22.4% from the March 15th total of 5,750,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,560,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $489.10 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $125.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -222.32, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $486.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $465.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on VRTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $512.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.