Atkinson Edward Morrow III 4

What Happened

• Edward M. Atkinson III, EVP & Chief Technical Operations Officer at Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX), disposed of a total of 2,623 shares in two transactions totaling about $1.21M. On 2026-02-10, 872 shares were surrendered/used to satisfy an exercise price or tax liability at $468.41 per share (≈ $408,454). On 2026-02-11, 1,751 shares were sold in an open-market transaction at $460.43 per share (≈ $806,213). Both transactions are sales/withholding rather than purchases.

Key Details

• Transaction dates and prices:
  • 2026-02-10: 872 shares @ $468.41 (payment of exercise price/tax withholding) — $408,454
  • 2026-02-11: 1,751 shares @ $460.43 (open-market sale) — $806,213
• Total shares disposed: 2,623; total proceeds/values ≈ $1,214,667.
• Shares owned after transaction: not disclosed in the filing.
• Footnote: The 2026-02-10 transaction was made pursuant to a company-approved Rule 10b5-1 trading plan entered 08/11/2025.
• Filing timeliness: The Form 4 was filed 2026-02-12 for transactions dated 2026-02-10 and 02-11; the filing appears timely (within the usual two-business-day window).

Context

• The Feb 10 entry appears to be a withholding or surrender of shares to cover exercise costs or taxes (common in option exercises/vests); the Feb 11 action was a straightforward open-market sale. Such insider sales are often routine (e.g., tax withholding or pre-set 10b5-1 plans) and are not, by themselves, a definitive signal of company prospects.