It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX Quick QuoteVRTX - Free Report) . Shares have added about 2.7% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

But investors have to be wondering, will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Vertex due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.

Q3 Earnings & Sales Beat

Vertex’s adjusted earnings of $4.80 per share for the third quarter of 2025 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.55. Earnings rose around 10% year over year, driven by increased product revenues, which were partially offset by increased operating expenses.

Total revenues of $3.08 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.04 billion. Total revenues rose 11% year over year, primarily driven by higher sales of Trikafta/Kaftrio and contributions from its three new drugs, Alyftrek, Journavx and Casgevy. While sales from Alyftrek were decent in the third quarter, Journavx and Casgevy’s sales missed expectations.

Its total revenues rose 15% year over year in the United States to $1.98 billion, driven by strong demand, favorable net pricing compared with the prior year and contributions from new products. Outside the U.S. market, sales increased 4% to $1.10 billion, driven by strong CF growth and contribution from Casgevy.

Quarter in Detail

The company currently markets four CF products — Trikafta/Kaftrio, Symdeko (marketed as Symkevi in Europe), Orkambi and Kalydeco.

Trikafta generated sales worth $2.65 billion, up 2.6% year over year. The product’s sales beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate as well as our model estimate of $2.56 billion.

Alyftrek generated sales worth $247.0 million in the third quarter compared with $156.8 million in the second quarter. Vertex said that the U.S. launch of Alyftrek is progressing well across all patient groups, while, in ex-U.S. markets, the early launch of Alyftrek is off to a strong start in multiple European countries where patients have reimbursed access. Alyftrek sales slightly beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $246 million and our model estimate of $225 million.

Vertex believes Alyftrek provides further improvements in CFTR function than Trikafta, as measured by sweat chloride. It is indicated for additional rare mutations and offers the convenience of once-daily dosing, thus showing the potential to become a standard of care for CF.

Management said it is seeing a steady uptake from all patient groups who are eligible for treatment with Alyftrek in the United States, including treatment-naive patients and patients who had discontinued previous CFTR modulator treatment. Some of the growth is also coming from patients switching from Trikafta. Vertex expects that the majority of patients globally who are currently on Trikafta will switch to Alyftrek over time, as it offers several benefits.

Revenues from other products declined 6% year over year to $175.8 million. This included revenues from Casgevy, Journavx, as well as sales of VRTX’s other CF products, Symdeko/Symkevi, Orkambi and Kalydeco.

Casgevy sales of $16.9 million declined 44.4% on a sequential basis. Casgevy sales also fell short of our model estimate of $35 million.

Vertex said that more than 160 patients have initiated cell collection since launch, and 39 patients have received infusions of Casgevy. Vertex is also making rapid progress in the drug’s access and reimbursement. Vertex expects over $100 million in Casgevy revenues this year and significant growth in 2026. Vertex recorded $61.5 million in Casgevy revenues in the first nine months of 2025.

Journavx (suzetrigine) generated $19.6 million in sales in the third quarter compared with $12 million in the second quarter. Journavx’s sales were almost in line with our model estimate of $20 million.

Though Journavx’s sales did not improve as expected in the third quarter, its launch metrics and early reimbursement progress look promising. Since its launch in mid-March to mid-October, over 300,000 prescriptions have been written for Journavx across both hospital and retail settings. 

Vertex said that physicians and patients have reported positive experiences with the drug while the company is making rapid contracting and formulary progress. It has reached agreements with two of the three large national PBMs to make Journavx available to their customers and is working on striking a deal with the third. Vertex also has unrestricted access within 19 state Medicaid plans. Overall, Vertex expects coverage across commercial, Medicare and Medicaid payers to continue to expand through the rest of 2025 and in 2026.

Vertex expects higher sales from Journavx in the fourth quarter as prescription volumes are rising.

Costs Rise

Adjusted research and development (R&D) expenses rose 12.6% year over year to $861.1 million to support its pipeline development.

Adjusted selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses rose 23% to $369.0 million in the reported quarter to support the launch of Journavx.

During the third quarter, Vertex recorded acquired in-process research and development (AIPR&D) costs of $54.5 million compared with $15.0 million in the year-ago quarter, which included the costs related to the acquisition of Alpine Immune Sciences.

Adjusted operating income rose 6% to $1.38 billion in the quarter.

VRTX’s 2025 Guidance

The company tightened its total revenue guidance for full-year 2025 from a range of $11.85-$12 billion to $11.9 to $12.0 billion.

The revenue range indicates growth of 8-9%. Growth is likely to be driven by continued CF franchise growth, including contribution from Alyftrek, over $100 million of Casgevy revenues and increased contribution from Journavx in the fourth quarter as it sees rising volumes.

Combined adjusted R&D, AIPR&D and SG&A expense guidance for 2025 was raised from a range of $4.9-$5 billion to $5.0 to $5.1 billion. The guidance was increased to account for higher expenses to support Journavx’s launch and for the acceleration of the povetacicept pipeline program.

Adjusted AIPR&D charges are expected to be approximately $100 million in 2025.  The impact of tariffs on costs is expected to be immaterial in 2025, based on tariffs already in place due to Vertex’s low exposure to China and its geographically diverse supply chain 

The adjusted tax rate was reduced from a range of 20.5%-21.5% to 17% to 18%.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

It turns out, fresh estimates have trended upward during the past month.

VGM Scores

Currently, Vertex has a nice Growth Score of B, a grade with the same score on the momentum front. However, the stock was allocated a score of D on the value side, putting it in the bottom 40% for value investors.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of C. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Interestingly, Vertex has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.

Performance of an Industry Player

Vertex belongs to the Zacks Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Another stock from the same industry, Amarin (AMRN Quick QuoteAMRN - Free Report) , has gained 2.2% over the past month. More than a month has passed since the company reported results for the quarter ended September 2025.

Amarin reported revenues of $49.67 million in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +17.4%. EPS of $0.01 for the same period compares with -$1.00 a year ago.

For the current quarter, Amarin is expected to post a loss of $0.85 per share, indicating a change of +64.6% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -606.7% over the last 30 days.

Amarin has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) based on the overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions. Additionally, the stock has a VGM Score of C.