Is Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock a Buy?
A tumultuous 2020 has revealed the strengths and weaknesses of companies across the stock market spectrum. While many businesses have struggled to adjust to pandemic highs and lows, others have reaffirmed their fortitude. Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) is one such company. The biopharmaceutical is one of the top ten highest-performing healthcare stocks of the S&P 500 since the start of the year.
Vertex's blockbuster cystic fibrosis treatment, Trikafta, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved in October 2019, has been a significant catalyst of growth. Trikafta was approved to treat about 90% of the cystic fibrosis population, many of whom have had no other therapy options, according to the FDA. It is estimated that more than 70,000 individuals across the globe have cystic fibrosis. The cystic fibrosis therapeutics market held a market valuation of $4.6 billion in 2018 and should attain a valuation of $9.3 billion by 2026, according to Allied Market Research.
Given Vertex's increasingly prominent position in the cystic fibrosis therapeutics market with Trikafta and other approved treatments for the disease, it's not surprising that some analysts expect the company to increase its earnings by nearly 25% each year in the next five years. If you're thinking about adding some new stocks to your portfolio, here's why Vertex Pharmaceuticals ought to be one of them.
Source Fool.com
