Strength Seen in Vertex (VRTX): Can Its 5.0% Jump Turn into More Strength?
Vertex Pharmaceuticals VRTX shares rallied 5% in the last trading session to close at $339.37. This move can be attributable to notable volume with a higher number of shares being traded than in a typical session. This compares to the stock's 2.9% gain over the past four weeks.
Share prices surged as the company receives positive opinion by the CHMP for the label extension of Orkambi for treating children with cystic fibrosis (CF) aged 1 to 2 years who have two copies of the F508del mutation. In Europe Orkambi is approved for people aged 2 years and above.
This drugmaker is expected to post quarterly earnings of $2.95 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -16.2%. Revenues are expected to be $2.31 billion, up 9.9% from the year-ago quarter.
Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.
For Vertex, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.8% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. And a negative trend in earnings estimate revisions doesn't usually translate into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on VRTX going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
Vertex is part of the Zacks Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Xoma XOMA, another stock in the same industry, closed the last trading session 1.9% lower at $18.83. XOMA has returned -13.6% in the past month.
For Xoma , the consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at -$0.50. This represents a change of -56.3% from what the company reported a year ago. Xoma currently has a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
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