An estimates-beating quarter and raised guidance were the elements pushing Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) shares comfortably higher on Friday. As of late-afternoon trading, the stock was up by nearly 5%.

After market hours on Thursday, Vertex published its second-quarter results. These showed that the busy pharmaceutical company earned just under $2.2 billion, a robust 22% improvement over the same period of last year. Non-GAAP (adjusted) net income saw a far more dramatic rise, though, increasing by a factor of over 20 to hit $930 million, or $3.60 per share.

Analysts tracking Vertex stock weren't expecting such good performance. Their estimates were lower than reality, at a shade over $2.1 billion for revenue and $3.49 for adjusted, per-share net income.

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Source Fool.com