Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market: What Investors Need to Know

Read MoreHide Full Article

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX - Free Report) closed at $469.29 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.99% move from the prior day. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.3%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.35%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.25%.

Shares of the drugmaker witnessed a loss of 5.53% over the previous month, trailing the performance of the Medical sector with its loss of 3.43% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.09%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in its forthcoming earnings report. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $4.07, signifying a 3.1% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $2.77 billion, indicating a 10.11% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

Looking at the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $0.50 per share and revenue of $10.88 billion. These totals would mark changes of -96.72% and +10.27%, respectively, from last year.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Vertex Pharmaceuticals. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. 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, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.09% downward. Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

With respect to valuation, Vertex Pharmaceuticals is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 955.31. This denotes a premium relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 25.25.

Also, we should mention that VRTX has a PEG ratio of 78.3. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. VRTX's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.05 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 64, which puts it in the top 26% of all 250+ industries.

The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these 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