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If You Invested $1000 in Vertex Pharmaceuticals a Decade Ago, This is How Much It'd Be Worth Now

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For most investors, how much a stock's price changes over time is important. This factor can impact your investment portfolio as well as help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.

Another thing that can drive investing is the fear of missing out, or FOMO. This particularly applies to tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.

What if you'd invested in Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX - Free Report) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to VRTX for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals' Business In-Depth

With that in mind, let's take a look at Vertex Pharmaceuticals' main business drivers.

Boston, MA-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of small molecule drugs targeting serious diseases. The company’s main area of focus is cystic fibrosis (CF).

The company’s lead marketed products are Trikafta (elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor and ivacaftor), Symdeko/Symkevi (tezacaftor/ivacaftor and ivacaftor), Orkambi (lumacaftor/ivacaftor) and Kalydeco (ivacaftor), which are collectively approved to treat around half of the 83,000 people with CF in North America, Europe and Australia. Trikafta, Vertex’s triple combination regimen, was approved by the FDA in October 2019 for the treatment of CF in people aged 12 years and older who have at least one F508del mutation. Kaftrio (brand name of Trikafta in EU) was approved in the European Union in August 2020. Trikafta is also being evaluated in younger patients in the United States. With approval of Trikafta, Vertex can address a significantly larger CF patient population — almost 90% of patients with CF — in the future.

While CF remains the main area of focus, Vertex is also developing treatments for sickle cell disease, thalassemia and pain management.

Pimodivir/VX-787, for the treatment of influenza, was out-licensed to Janssen in 2014 while oncology candidates VX-970, VX-984 and VX-803 were divested to Merck KGaA in 2017.

The company recorded total revenues of $6.2 billion in 2020, up 49% year over year. Trikafta/ Kaftrio accounted for 62.2% of the company’s total product revenues, Orkambi accounted for 14.6%, Kalydeco accounted for 13%, and Symdeko comprised 10.1% of the same.

Bottom Line

Putting together a successful investment portfolio takes a combination of research, patience, and a little bit of risk. For Vertex Pharmaceuticals, if you bought shares a decade ago, you're likely feeling really good about your investment today.

According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in July 2011 would be worth $3,931.85, or a 293.18% gain, as of July 15, 2021. Investors should keep in mind that this return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation.

In comparison, the S&P 500 gained 234.20% and the price of gold went up 10.21% over the same time frame.

Analysts are anticipating more upside for VRTX.

Vertex’s cystic franchise sales continue to grow despite the pandemic. Triple therapy, Trikafta’s early approval and launch was a significant milestone for Vertex. Trikafta is crucial for Vertex’s long-term growth as it has the potential to treat up to 90% of CF patients. Meanwhile, Vertex’s non-CF pipeline is progressing rapidly with data from multiple programs expected in 2021. Business development is also a priority. However, Vertex’s dependence on just the CF franchise for commercial revenues is a concern. Though Trikafta is expected to remain a key revenue driver in 2021, additional ex-US penetration and reimbursement agreements are uncertain. The stock has underperformed the industry this year so far. Estimates are stable ahead of Q2 earnings. Vertex has a mixed record of earnings surprises in recent quarters.

Shares have gained 5.55% over the past four weeks and there have been 1 higher earnings estimate revisions for fiscal 2021 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.

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