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Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) Beats Stock Market Upswing: What Investors Need to Know

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Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX - Free Report) closed at $489.43 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.84% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.13%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.55%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.52%.

Shares of the drugmaker have appreciated by 1.68% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Medical sector's gain of 3.34% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.67%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in its upcoming release. In that report, analysts expect Vertex Pharmaceuticals to post earnings of $4.11 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 0.74%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $2.68 billion, up 7.83% from the year-ago period.

For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $0.05 per share and a revenue of $10.74 billion, signifying shifts of -99.67% and +8.87%, respectively, from the last year.

Furthermore, it would be beneficial for investors to monitor any recent shifts in analyst projections 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.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.42% higher. Currently, Vertex Pharmaceuticals is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a Forward P/E ratio of 10468.76 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 23.4, so one might conclude that Vertex Pharmaceuticals is trading at a premium comparatively.

Investors should also note that VRTX has a PEG ratio of 837.5 right now. 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. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry held an average PEG ratio of 2.18.

The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 83, positioning it in the top 33% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.

To follow VRTX in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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