Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) closed at $288.22, marking a +1.6% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.15%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.71%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.13%.

Heading into today, shares of the drugmaker had lost 1.27% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's loss of 0.6% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.44% in that time.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be August 4, 2022. On that day, Vertex Pharmaceuticals is projected to report earnings of $3.53 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 13.5%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $2.13 billion, up 19% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $14.10 per share and revenue of $8.58 billion. These totals would mark changes of +8.29% and +13.3%, respectively, from last year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates 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.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.06% lower within the past month. Vertex Pharmaceuticals is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Looking at its valuation, Vertex Pharmaceuticals is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 20.12. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 23.88, so we one might conclude that Vertex Pharmaceuticals is trading at a discount comparatively.

We can also see that VRTX currently has a PEG ratio of 1.84. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.34 at yesterday's closing price.

The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 72, which puts it in the top 29% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. 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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