Boston Based Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc Stock Performs better

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. Shared advanced 1.50% to $216.77 Thursday. This proved to be an all-around positive trading session for the stock market, with the S&P 500 Index SPX rising 0.47% to 4,239.18 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA rising 0.06% to 34,466.24.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. closed $89.31 short of its 52-week high ($306.08), which the company achieved on July 7th.The stock demonstrated a mixed performance when compared to some of its competitors Thursday, as Johnson & Johnson JNJ rose 0.90% to $167.08, Merck & Co. Inc. MRK rose 2.84% to $76.14, and AbbVie Inc. ABBV rose 1.96% to $116.24.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc trading volume (2.5 M) eclipsed its 50-day average volume of 1.5 M.This was the stock’s third consecutive day of gains. Vertex Pharmaceuticals ended a closely watched effort to develop a therapy for liver disease, a setback in the biotech’s quest to broaden its offerings beyond cystic fibrosis drugs. The shares plunged in post-market trading.

After reporting results from a mid-stage trial, Vertex said its experimental treatment, VX-864, isn’t likely to substantially benefit patients. The company discontinued development of a similar compound last fall due to safety issues. Both were aimed at treating alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, an inherited disease where the patient’s liver doesn’t make a protein needed to protect itself and the lungs.The shares fell as much as 15% after U.S. markets closed Thursday. They had lost 8.3% this year through the 4 p.m. close.