Insider Selling: Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP Sells $930,529.03 in Stock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) EVP Mark Bunnage sold 2,021 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total transaction of $930,529.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,945,993.02. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 5.7%

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $491.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $124.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.06 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $459.98 and a 200-day moving average of $427.48. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.90%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $414.00 to $606.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Evercore raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $570.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $537.05.

Trending Headlines about Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and product momentum — Q4 revenue of ~$3.19B (≈+9.5% YoY) came in at or slightly above many forecasts, driven by cystic fibrosis product sales and new launches (Alyftrek, Casgevy, Journavx), supporting near-term cash flow expectations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade and bullish targets — Oppenheimer upgraded VRTX to “outperform” with a $540 target; several other firms recently raised targets or reiterated buys, which can drive momentum and institutional demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline diversification highlighted — Company commentary emphasized growth beyond CF (autoimmune partnerships/expansion), which reduces concentration risk and supports longer-term upside. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: 2026 revenue guidance roughly in-line — Management set FY2026 revenue guidance around $13.0–13.1B, largely matching Street expectations; this limits downside from guidance surprises but is not a bullish catalyst on its own. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Full materials available for modeling — The slide deck and earnings call transcript are posted; analysts will parse product trends and margins to update models. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Small EPS miss and mixed metric comparisons — EPS was ~$5.03 vs. consensus near $5.05–$5.07; some outlets flagged revenue slightly below certain Street models, triggering near-term profit-taking. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Multiple senior executives disclosed open-market sales this week (EVPs, CAO). While common for tax/diversification, the cluster of sales can amplify short-term negative sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: After-hours weakness — The EPS miss plus insider sales pressured shares in after-hours trading, reflecting short-term profit-taking before today’s rebound. Article Title

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.6% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 126,540 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $57,216,000 after purchasing an additional 18,011 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 17,294 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,699,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Community Bank N.A. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 58.8% during the 2nd quarter. Community Bank N.A. now owns 1,964 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 727 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is 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.