Short Interest in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Drops By 22.4%

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $489.10 on Friday. 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 has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $125.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -222.32, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $486.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $465.20.

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

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm’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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Ten 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.