Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP Mark Bunnage Sells 2,021 Shares of Stock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP Mark Bunnage sold 2,021 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total value of $930,529.03. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,945,993.02. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.8%

VRTX stock opened at $465.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $117.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.79 and a beta of 0.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $459.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $427.55. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and product momentum: Vertex reported quarter-over-quarter revenue growth (total revenue ~$3.19B, ~+9.5% YoY), which some outlets framed as a revenue beat or in-line with estimates — supporting confidence in core cystic fibrosis franchises. Vertex Q4 Revenue Beats
• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline expansion: Vertex announced a partnership with WuXi to broaden its autoimmune pipeline beyond cystic fibrosis, which could diversify future revenue streams and reduce single-therapy concentration risk. Partnership with WuXi
• Neutral Sentiment: 2026 guidance broadly in-line: Management gave revenue guidance centered around ~$13.0–13.1B, which Reuters and the company describe as roughly matching analysts’ expectations; this limits downside from guidance but doesn’t materially raise the bar. Reuters: Guidance In-Line
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and valuation context: Multiple analysts maintain bullish ratings and above-consensus price targets (median targets well above current levels), supporting longer-term upside; valuation and momentum write-ups are circulating for investors weighing entry timing. Zacks: Momentum Thesis
• Negative Sentiment: Small EPS miss and mixed beats: EPS came in marginally below consensus (reported ~$5.03 vs. estimates near $5.05–$5.07), and some data feeds showed revenue slightly under certain Street models — a near-term driver for the post-release price pullback among short-term traders. Zacks: EPS Miss Zacks: Metric Comparison
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Multiple senior executives disclosed stock sales (several EVPs and the CAO among them), and trackers note a pattern of insider liquidations over recent months — this raises short-term sentiment risk even if sales are routine diversification. Quiver: Insider Selling and Earnings Reaction

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Evercore lifted their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $522.68.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CI Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 353.9% during the 4th quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 49,891 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,619,000 after purchasing an additional 38,900 shares in the last quarter. Davis R M Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 46.5% during the fourth quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 1,135 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 13,016 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,900,000 after buying an additional 2,199 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $335,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 4,239 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,949,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.