Vertex Shares Plunge 2.6 After VX-993 Trial Exit Amid 58th-Highest Trading Volume

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) closed at $377.75, down 2.60% on August 7, with a trading volume of 1.51 billion, ranking 58th in market activity. The decline followed the termination of its VX-993 clinical trial for acute pain, which overshadowed Q2 earnings of $2.96 billion in revenue and $1.03 billion in net income. The trial failure marked a strategic shift, as Vertex abandoned monotherapy development for VX-993 after it failed to demonstrate statistically significant pain reduction compared to placebo in a phase 2 study involving 367 patients post-bunionectomy.

Options data revealed aggressive short-term bearish positioning, with high leverage contracts like VRTX20250815C380 and VRTX20250815C385 attracting speculative activity. The stock traded near its 52-week low of $372.35, with key support levels at $374.51 intraday low. Technical indicators showed an RSI of 28.83 (oversold) and a bearish MACD divergence, suggesting continued downward pressure in the near term.

Historical backtesting ofVRTX’s performance revealed a 55.86% win rate over three days and 61.98% over 30 days following a -2% intraday drop. The maximum rebound of 3.83% occurred on day 59, indicating potential for recovery post-selloff. Despite the VX-993 setback, Vertex’s pipeline, including Journavx (suzetrigine), remains a long-term growth driver, though short-term volatility is likely to persist as investors reassess risk exposure.