Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) Rises As Market Takes a Dip: Key Facts

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) closed the most recent trading day at $452.16, moving +1.56% from the previous trading session. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.11% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.91%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.82%.

Shares of the drugmaker have depreciated by 0.05% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Medical sector's gain of 1.66%, and the S&P 500's gain of 5.17%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in its forthcoming earnings report. On that day, Vertex Pharmaceuticals is projected to report earnings of $4.21 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 132.81%. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $2.88 billion, reflecting a 8.87% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.

VRTX's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $17.82 per share and revenue of $11.91 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +4142.86% and +8.04%, respectively.

It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.02% lower. Currently, Vertex Pharmaceuticals is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In the context of valuation, Vertex Pharmaceuticals is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 24.99. This represents a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 18.72.

The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 85, placing it within the top 35% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.

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Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (VRTX) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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