Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on Vertex Pharmaceuticals ( VRTX ) .

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the trades showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.

Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don't know. But when something this big happens with VRTX, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

So how do we know what these investors just did?

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 21 uncommon options trades for Vertex Pharmaceuticals ( VRTX ).

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 42% bullish and 33%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 11 are puts, for a total amount of $916,872, and 10 are calls, for a total amount of $306,700.

Expected Price Movements

Based on the trading activity, it appears that the significant investors are aiming for a price territory stretching from $300.0 to $580.0 for Vertex Pharmaceuticals ( VRTX ) over the recent three months.

Volume & Open Interest Development

In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for Vertex Pharmaceuticals ( VRTX ) options trades today is 82.0 with a total volume of 780.00.

In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for Vertex Pharmaceuticals's ( VRTX ) big money trades within a strike price range of $300.0 to $580.0 over the last 30 days.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days

Biggest Options Spotted:

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals ( VRTX ) is a global biotechnology company that discovers and develops small-molecule drugs for the treatment of serious diseases. Its key drugs are Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko, and Trikafta/Kaftrio, and Alyftrek for cystic fibrosis, where Vertex therapies remain the standard of care globally. Vertex has diversified its portfolio through Casgevy, a gene-editing therapy for beta thalassemia and sickle-cell disease, and Journavx, a non-opioid pain medication approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe acute pain in adults. Additionally, Vertex is evaluating small-molecule inhibitors of APOL1-mediated kidney diseases. Vertex is also investigating cell therapies to deliver a potential functional cure for type 1 diabetes.

After a thorough review of the options trading surrounding Vertex Pharmaceuticals ( VRTX ), we move to examine the company in more detail. This includes an assessment of its current market status and performance.

Present Market Standing of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Currently trading with a volume of 808,929, the VRTX's price is down by -0.9%, now at $441.81.

RSI readings suggest the stock is currently is currently neutral between overbought and oversold.

Anticipated earnings release is in 35 days.

Professional Analyst Ratings for Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In the last month, 3 experts released ratings on this stock with an average target price of $476.67.

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* Reflecting concerns, an analyst from HC Wainwright & Co. lowers its rating to Buy with a new price target of $550.

* Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Morgan Stanley keeps a Equal-Weight rating on Vertex Pharmaceuticals ( VRTX ) with a target price of $460.

* Maintaining their stance, an analyst from RBC Capital continues to hold a Sector Perform rating for Vertex Pharmaceuticals ( VRTX ), targeting a price of $420.

Options are a riskier asset compared to just trading the stock, but they have higher profit potential. Serious options traders manage this risk by educating themselves daily, scaling in and out of trades, following more than one indicator, and following the markets closely.

If you want to stay updated on the latest options trades for Vertex Pharmaceuticals ( VRTX ), Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.