In the latest close session, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) was down 1.2% at $449.52. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.16% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.47%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 1.81%.
Heading into today, shares of the drugmaker had gained 4.46% over the past month, outpacing the Medical sector's gain of 1.68% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.03%.
The upcoming earnings release of Vertex Pharmaceuticals will be of great interest to investors. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $4.98, marking a 25.13% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $3.16 billion, indicating a 8.59% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $18.3 per share and a revenue of $11.97 billion, demonstrating changes of +4257.14% and +8.64%, respectively, from the preceding year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.27% higher within the past month. Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a Forward P/E ratio of 24.86 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 18.29, so one might conclude that Vertex Pharmaceuticals is trading at a premium comparatively.
The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 89, this industry ranks in the top 37% of all industries, numbering over 250.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
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Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (VRTX): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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