FCF $3.8b — solid, comfortably covers operations and capital return
Rev+10.2%TTM YoYB
Revenue +10.2% — at or above S&P median
D/E0.10B+
D/E 0.10 — below the Healthcare debt median (≈40th pctile)
P/E30.5xB
P/E 30.5 — near the Healthcare median (≈60th pctile)
PEG1.60C+
PEG 1.60 — modest premium; above fair value
Forward price target — the 1-year figure is the analyst consensus where the stock is covered; the 5- and 10-year figures compound our earnings estimate from there. The DCF below is a separate cross-check on intrinsic value (what it's worth today), not another target.
Quality-growth score · 69.7
Quality0.83
Growth0.85
Value0.48
Entry · Margin of safety
52-week rangeNear 52-week high
4% off the 12-month high
vs DCF fair value90% aboveest. fair value ~$276
What the price assumes: free cash flow compounding at ~25% a year for the next decade — vs the ~13% a year our model projects from current growth and analyst estimates.
Quality signals · context only
Gross profitability39% · B+gross profit ÷ total assets (Novy-Marx)
ROIC18.5% · A-return on invested capital — not score-weighted
Model-generatedGenerated by the Bull Rankings model from this company's reported fundamentals, and checked against the figures shown above.
Why now
Biotechnology · market cap $132.8b. 4% off the 52-week high of $546.17. Revenue growing +10%, comfortably above the S&P median. 25 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $558.68 (implying +7% upside).
Moat
Net margin 35% is exceptional — pricing-power territory rare outside premium software, branded staples, and specialty pharma. ROE 22% sits above Buffett's preferred 15% threshold — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately. $132.8b market cap gives the company enough scale to absorb fixed costs that subscale competitors can't, without yet being so large that growth has to come from acquisition.
Risk
Trailing P/E 31x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates. P/S 10.5x embeds aggressive forward growth — disappointing top-line guidance would compress the multiple hard. Trial-readout binary — late-stage clinical trials carry approve/reject outcomes that swing valuation 30%+; the equity is effectively a portfolio of these binary events, not a steady cash-flow business.
Horizon
1-3 yr $558.68 (25-analyst consensus) — fundamentals + valuation re-rating. 5 yr $817.96 at ~9% CAGR — compounding case rests on the competitive position widening. 10 yr $1,213 if current growth sustains into durable earnings power.
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
VRTX vs the Top Picks average
Pillar
VRTX
Book avg
Diff
Quality
0.83
0.83
in line
Growth
0.85
0.92
-0.06
Value
0.48
0.75
-0.27
Averaged across the 30 names in today's Top Picks (mean score 82.4). A name can beat these averages and still be absent from the book — it also applies concentration limits.
Score history · VRTX
Trend
+3.1 over 37 daily scores
From 66.6 (Jun 22) → 69.7 (now)
One point per daily model run. The range autoscales, so a flat-looking line can still hide 1–2 point moves — read the From → To values for the actual range.
Position sizing · VRTX
$
%
%
Shares to buy
3
Position size
$1,572
3.1% of portfolio
Stop price
$392.93
25% below $523.91
$ at risk if stopped
$392.93
budget $500.00 · 1% of portfolio
Math only — share count is floor(portfolio × risk% ÷ (price × stop%)). Doesn't account for commissions, slippage, gap risk, or position-correlation across your book. Inputs persist locally; never sent to the server. Not investment advice.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (VRTX) is a Biotechnology company that scores 69.7 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth model — a solid, above-average reading. The score blends three pillars — quality (durable returns, healthy margins, low leverage), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (valuation versus sector peers) — into one number, refreshed daily; it is a screen, not a buy recommendation.
Its strongest graded signals are D/E (B+). On valuation, VRTX sits about 90% above our discounted-cash-flow fair value — the current price implies roughly 25% annual free-cash-flow growth over the next decade.
Is VRTX a good stock to buy?
Bull Rankings scores VRTX 69.7 out of 100 on its quality-growth model, which is a solid, above-average reading. That is driven by D/E (B+). A score is a quantitative screen of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's fundamentals, not personalised financial advice — weigh it against your own time horizon and risk tolerance, and read the risk factors below before acting.
Why does VRTX score 69.7 on Bull Rankings?
The quality-growth score blends three pillars — quality (returns on capital, margins, leverage, earnings quality), growth (revenue and earnings expansion), and value (valuation versus sector peers). VRTX earns its highest marks on D/E (B+). Each pillar is graded against sector-aware thresholds, then combined into the single 0–100 score.
Is VRTX overvalued or undervalued?
Based on $523.91, VRTX sits about 90% above our discounted-cash-flow fair value — the current price implies roughly 25% annual free-cash-flow growth over the next decade. It trades at a 30.5x× P/E (graded B). Discounted-cash-flow estimates are sensitive to growth and discount-rate assumptions, so treat this as a cross-check, not a price target.
What are the main risks of investing in VRTX?
Trailing P/E 31x sits well above the S&P median (~20x) — multiple compression is a real risk if revenue growth decelerates. P/S 10.5x embeds aggressive forward growth — disappointing top-line guidance would compress the multiple hard. Trial-readout binary — late-stage clinical trials carry approve/reject outcomes that swing valuation 30%+; the equity is effectively a portfolio of these binary events, not a steady cash-flow business.
Bull Rankings is an automated fundamentals screen for research and education. It is not investment advice, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Do your own research and consider consulting a licensed financial adviser.