Horizon Investments LLC Raises Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,969 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $1,510,000. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,486,000 after acquiring an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,324,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $662,000. Finally, Davidson Investment Advisors increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,630,000 after acquiring an additional 12,631 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $512.23 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $462.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $461.95. The stock has a market cap of $131.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -232.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

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.