Horizon Investment Services LLC Cuts Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Horizon Investment Services LLC cut its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,712 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 89 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 1.3% of Horizon Investment Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Horizon Investment Services LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $468.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26. The company has a market cap of $120.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.41 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $483.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $448.06. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $340.83 and a 1-year high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.00, for a total value of $1,089,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 32,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,477,162. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Edward Morrow Atkinson III sold 7,288 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.00, for a total value of $3,483,664.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,634,616. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.00, for a total value of $1,089,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 32,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,477,162. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,615 shares of company stock worth $21,417,310 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.