New York, Feb 17, 2026, 15:48 EST — Regular session
- Vertex shares down about 3% in afternoon trading, lagging biotech ETFs
- H.C. Wainwright lifted its price target to $591, keeping a Buy rating
- Vertex said its once-daily cystic fibrosis drug Alyftrek is now funded on Australia’s PBS
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated shares fell about 3% on Tuesday, giving back some recent gains as traders weighed fresh analyst commentary and new insider sale notices. The stock was down 3.2% at $475.84 in afternoon trading.
The pullback matters because Vertex’s rally has pushed expectations higher for a pipeline that is supposed to carry growth beyond cystic fibrosis. A lot of the market’s attention has shifted to whether kidney-disease bets can do real work on revenue, not just broaden the story.
It also lands as the company presses its core franchise into new geographies and patient groups, where reimbursement decisions can move the needle. Those steps don’t always show up cleanly in a single quarter, but they can reset the slope investors model.
H.C. Wainwright analyst Andrew Fein raised the firm’s price target on Vertex to $591 from $518 on Tuesday and kept a Buy rating, calling povetacicept “the best-in-class contender” in primary membranous nephropathy after Roche’s Phase 3 MAJESTY study. (TipRanks)
The move came with biotech broadly firmer. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF was up about 1.6% and iShares Biotechnology ETF added about 0.9%, leaving Vertex as a clear laggard in the group.
Vertex was also in focus after it said its once-daily cystic fibrosis drug Alyftrek is funded on Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme from Feb. 1 for eligible patients aged 6 and older, with the company estimating about 3,200 Australians can now access it. “Today, more than 95% of Australians living with cystic fibrosis now have access to a CFTR modulator,” said Elisha Whitfield, Vertex’s senior country manager for Australia and New Zealand. (News Hub)
Separately, securities filings showed two company officers flagged plans to sell shares. Mark Bunnage disclosed a proposed sale of 2,437 shares, listed with an aggregate market value of about $1.19 million, with the shares shown as acquired through restricted stock vesting. (Streetinsider)
Another filing showed Ourania Tatsis disclosed a proposed sale of 609 shares, listed with an aggregate market value of about $298,081, also tied to restricted stock vesting. These notices are filed under Rule 144, which requires certain insiders to notify regulators before selling stock. (Streetinsider)
Still, Form 144 filings can be routine — a plan to sell is not a trade, and the amounts are small next to Vertex’s market value. But they can grab attention when a stock is near recent highs and the tape turns choppy.
The bigger debate is still about the next leg of growth. Last week, Vertex laid out its 2026 outlook and pointed to a broad pipeline that includes kidney disease programs; the company said it expects interim analysis data for povetacicept in IgA nephropathy in the first half of 2026 and aims to complete its submission for U.S. accelerated approval in that window if the data support it. (Business Wire)
The risk is timing and proof. Trial readouts can miss expectations, regulators can ask for more data, and reimbursement momentum can slow in key markets — all of which would leave investors leaning back on the cystic fibrosis franchise while they wait.
What investors are watching next is the next concrete data point on povetacicept, along with any updates on Alyftrek uptake outside the U.S., as the stock heads into the close with insiders’ planned sales now on the record.
