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Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
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In the latest trading session, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX - Free Report) closed at $346.84, marking a +0.08% move from the previous day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.12%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.2%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.29%.
Heading into today, shares of the drugmaker had lost 0.92% over the past month, outpacing the Medical sector's loss of 0.98% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 0.09% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Vertex Pharmaceuticals as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $3.93, down 2% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $2.49 billion, up 6.5% from the year-ago period.
VRTX's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $14.66 per share and revenue of $9.84 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -1.48% and +10.15%, respectively.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Vertex Pharmaceuticals should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
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.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.13% higher. Vertex Pharmaceuticals is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Vertex Pharmaceuticals is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 23.65. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 18.14, so we one might conclude that Vertex Pharmaceuticals is trading at a premium comparatively.
Also, we should mention that VRTX has a PEG ratio of 2.31. 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. Medical - Biomedical and Genetics stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.16 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 101, putting it in the top 41% 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.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX - Free Report) closed at $346.84, marking a +0.08% move from the previous day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.12%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.2%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.29%.
Heading into today, shares of the drugmaker had lost 0.92% over the past month, outpacing the Medical sector's loss of 0.98% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 0.09% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Vertex Pharmaceuticals as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $3.93, down 2% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $2.49 billion, up 6.5% from the year-ago period.
VRTX's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $14.66 per share and revenue of $9.84 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -1.48% and +10.15%, respectively.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Vertex Pharmaceuticals should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
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.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.13% higher. Vertex Pharmaceuticals is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Vertex Pharmaceuticals is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 23.65. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 18.14, so we one might conclude that Vertex Pharmaceuticals is trading at a premium comparatively.
Also, we should mention that VRTX has a PEG ratio of 2.31. 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. Medical - Biomedical and Genetics stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.16 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 101, putting it in the top 41% 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.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.