Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings and dividends.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
---|
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | 0 | 6 | 15 | 1 | 2.77 |
Vertex Pharmaceuticals | 0 | 4 | 22 | 1 | 2.89 |
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus target price of $625.8077, suggesting a potential upside of 35.58%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus target price of $292.68, suggesting a potential upside of 38.07%. Given Vertex Pharmaceuticals' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Vertex Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
Profitability
This table compares Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Vertex Pharmaceuticals' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
---|
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | 38.28% | 28.97% | 20.11% |
Vertex Pharmaceuticals | 38.51% | 28.55% | 20.68% |
Risk and Volatility
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.3, indicating that its share price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Vertex Pharmaceuticals' top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
---|
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | $7.86 billion | 6.29 | $2.12 billion | $21.47 | 21.50 |
Vertex Pharmaceuticals | $4.16 billion | 13.24 | $1.18 billion | $4.29 | 49.41 |
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 and Institutional Ownership
85.0% of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.2% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.8% of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Vertex Pharmaceuticals beats Regeneron Pharmaceuticals on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.