Hoylecohen LLC Acquires Shares of 722 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Hoylecohen LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 722 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $338,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX traded up $5.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $477.37. 1,181,337 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,219,119. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.98 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $480.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $442.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $340.83 and a 1-year high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,320,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total value of $3,168,704.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,320,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 55,703 shares of company stock worth $26,615,855 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.