Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals | $4.16 billion | 18.14 | $1.18 billion | $4.29 | 67.90 |
| Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | $7.86 billion | 8.78 | $2.12 billion | $21.47 | 29.22 |
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has higher revenue and earnings than Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vertex Pharmaceuticals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
93.4% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.0% of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 11.3% of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Risk & Volatility
Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals | 31.35% | 25.69% | 18.50% |
| Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | 28.56% | 24.94% | 18.81% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals | 0 | 7 | 21 | 1 | 2.79 |
| Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | 0 | 13 | 13 | 1 | 2.56 |
Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus target price of $284.2308, indicating a potential downside of 2.43%. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has a consensus target price of $557.7037, indicating a potential downside of 11.09%. Given Vertex Pharmaceuticals' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Vertex Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
Summary
Vertex Pharmaceuticals beats Regeneron Pharmaceuticals on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
