How to buy Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated shares

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (VRTX) is a leading biotechnology business with stocks listed in the US. It opened the day at US$217.11 after a previous close of US$219.76. During the day the price has varied from a low of USD214 to a high of USD218.9. The latest price was USD215.98 (25 minute delay). Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is listed on the NASDAQ. All prices are listed in US Dollars.

How to buy shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated

1. Compare share trading platforms. To buy shares in a US company from Australia you'll need to find a trading platform that offers access to US stock markets. If you're just starting out, look for a platform with low brokerage and foreign exchange fees.
2. Open and fund your brokerage account. Complete an application with your personal and financial details, like your ID and tax file number. Fund your account with a bank transfer, credit card or debit card.
3. Search for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated. Find the share by name or ticker symbol: VRTX. Research its history to confirm it's a solid investment against your financial goals.
4. Purchase now or later. Buy today with a market order or use a limit order to delay your purchase until Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated reaches your desired price. To spread out your risk, look into dollar-cost averaging, which smooths out buying at consistent intervals and amounts.
5. Decide on how many to buy. Weigh your budget against a diversified portfolio that can minimise risk through the market's ups and downs. You may be able to buy a fractional share of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, depending on your broker.
6. Check in on your investment. Congratulations, you own a part of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated. Optimise your portfolio by tracking how your stock — and even the business — performs with an eye on the long term. You may be eligible for dividends and shareholder voting rights on directors and management that can affect your stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated share price

Use our graph to track the performance of VRTX stocks over time.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated shares at a glance

• Live prices
• Key figures

Information last updated 2021-04-22.

Open	US$217.11
High	US$218.9
Low	US$214
Close	US$215.98
Previous close	US$219.76
Change	US$-3.78
Change %	-1.7201%
Volume	1,777,617

Information last updated 2021-04-16.

52-week range	US$202.57 - US$306.08
50-day moving average	US$214.1737
200-day moving average	US$224.9318
Target price	US$285.42
PE ratio	21.4869
Dividend yield	N/A (0%)
Earnings per share (TTM)	US$10.29

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The value of your investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is no indication of future results.

Is it a good time to buy Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Technical Analysis of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated by TradingView

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the last close of $215.98

1 month (2021-03-23)	1.12%

Is Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated under- or over-valued?

Valuing Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge the value of a stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's P/E ratio

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 21x. In other words, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated shares trade at around 21x recent earnings.

That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's PEG ratio

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 0.3843. A low ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer better value, while a higher ratio can be interpreted as meaning the shares offer worse value.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's EBITDA

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is US$3 billion (£2.1 billion).

The EBITDA is a measure of a Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated financials

Revenue TTM	US$6.2 billion
Operating margin TTM	46.24%
Gross profit TTM	US$3.6 billion
Return on assets TTM	17.87%
Return on equity TTM	36.71%
Profit margin	43.7%
Book value	33.425
Market capitalisation	US$57.2 billion

TTM: trailing 12 months

Shorting Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated shares

There are currently 4.2 million Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated shares held short by investors – that's known as Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's "short interest". This figure is 14.7% down from 5.0 million last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated shares can be evaluated.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's "short interest ratio" (SIR)

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated shares traded daily (recently around 1.9 million). Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's SIR currently stands at 2.24. In other words for every 100,000 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated shares traded daily on the market, roughly 2240 shares are currently held short.

However Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated shares, or, against the total number of tradable Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's short interest could be expressed as 0.02% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated shares in existence, roughly 20 shares are currently held short) or 0.0164% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated shares, roughly 16 shares are currently held short).

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated.

Find out more about how you can short Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's environmental, social and governance track record

Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated.

When it comes to ESG scores, lower is better, and lower scores are generally associated with lower risk for would-be investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's total ESG risk score

Total ESG risk: 30.84

Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's overall score of 30.84 (as at 12/31/2018) is nothing to write home about – landing it in it in the 44th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.

ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's environmental score

Environmental score: 5.65/100

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's environmental score of 5.65 puts it squarely in the 8th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's social score

Social score: 24.22/100

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's social score of 24.22 puts it squarely in the 8th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's governance score

Governance score: 12.46/100

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's governance score puts it squarely in the 8th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's controversy score

Controversy score: 2/5

ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated scored a 2 out of 5 for controversy – the second-highest score possible, reflecting that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has, for the most part, managed to keep its nose clean.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.

Total ESG score	30.84
Total ESG percentile	44
Environmental score	5.65
Environmental score percentile	8
Social score	24.22
Social score percentile	8
Governance score	12.46
Governance score percentile	8
Level of controversy	2

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated share dividends

We're not expecting Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated to pay a dividend over the next 12 months.

Have Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's shares ever split?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's shares were split on a 2:1 basis on 23 August 2000. So if you had owned 1 share the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 2 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 50% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated shares which in turn could have impacted Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's share price.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's shares have ranged in value from as little as US$202.57 up to US$306.08. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NASDAQ average) beta is 1, while Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's is 0.6795. This would suggest that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's shares are less volatile than average (for this exchange).

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated overview

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis. The company markets SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI, ORKAMBI, and KALYDECO to treat patients with cystic fibrosis who have specific mutations in their cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene; and TRIKAFTA for the treatment of patients with CF 12 years of age or older who have at least one F508del mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator, or CFTR, gene. Its pipeline includes Pipeline for Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency that is in Phase 2 clinical trial; VX-864, a second investigational small molecule corrector for the treatment of AAT deficiency, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial; and VX-147 that completed a Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of APOL1-mediated focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, or FSGS, and other serious kidney diseases. The company sells its products primarily to specialty pharmacy and specialty distributors in the United States, as well as specialty distributors and retail chains, and hospitals and clinics internationally. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has collaborations with CRISPR Therapeutics AG; Arbor Biotechnologies, Inc.; Moderna, Inc.; Genomics plc; Merck KGaA; Darmstadt, Germany; X-Chem, Inc.; Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Merck KGaA; Kymera Therapeutics; Ribometrix, Inc.; Molecular Templates, Inc.; and Affinia Therapeutics. The company was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Frequently asked questions

• What percentage of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is owned by insiders or institutions?

  Currently 0.136% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated shares are held by insiders and 94.945% by institutions.

• When does the fiscal year end for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated?

  Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's fiscal year ends in December.

• Where is Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated based?

  Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's address is: 50 Northern Avenue, Boston, MA, United States, 02210

• What is Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's ISIN number?

  Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's international securities identification number is: US92532F1003

• What is Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's CUSIP number?

  Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated's Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures number is: 92532F100