Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

In the latest trading session, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX - Free Report) closed at $224.17, marking a +0.06% move from the previous day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.16%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.23%.

Coming into today, shares of the drugmaker had gained 2.62% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector gained 3.63%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.58%.

VRTX will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.61, up 53.53% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $1.57 billion, up 11.05% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $10.39 per share and revenue of $6.14 billion, which would represent changes of +94.93% and +47.48%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for VRTX. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. VRTX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note VRTX's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 21.56. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 22.51.

We can also see that VRTX currently has a PEG ratio of 1.05. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. VRTX's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.52 as of yesterday's close.

The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 210, which puts it in the bottom 18% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (VRTX) - free report >>

Published in