ALNY vs VRTX Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Alnylam and Vertex are both leading rare disease biopharmaceutical companies using distinct therapeutic modalities: Alnylam uses RNA interference to silence disease-causing genes, while Vertex uses small molecules to correct or compensate for genetic defects. Both have strong commercial rare disease franchises and are diversifying into adjacent therapeutic categories.
ALNY vs VRTX is a comparison between the RNAi platform company building beyond its TTR franchise (Alnylam) and the CF small molecule near-monopolist expanding into pain, kidney, and gene therapy (Vertex) — both are quality rare disease investments but at different revenue scale and maturity levels.
VRTX holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. VRTX has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+31.32% vs -47.02%), though ALNY has the better forward P/E setup (19.94x vs 24.63x for VRTX). On fundamentals, ALNY is growing revenue faster (66.90%), while VRTX maintains the higher operating margin (38.05%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for ALNY (+49.33%) than for VRTX (+3.96%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- prefer the leading RNAi therapeutics company with a platform capable of targeting genes that conventional drugs cannot address
- value Amvuttra's growing hATTR amyloidosis franchise and Leqvio cardiovascular lipid-lowering partnership with Novartis
- want exposure to a biotechnology platform that can address multiple rare and common diseases through gene silencing
- are comfortable with smaller revenue scale than Vertex and a path to profitability requiring Amvuttra to reach $1B+ revenue
- prefer the CF near-monopoly with the highest free cash flow margins in biotech from Trikafta's pricing power and market share
- value VX-548 non-opioid pain and kidney disease pipeline as large new TAMs diversifying Vertex's revenue beyond CF
- want a more financially mature rare disease company with $8B+ in revenue and strong balance sheet supporting pipeline investment
- are comfortable with CF market saturation risk and the pipeline diversification execution required for long-term growth
| Metric | ALNY | VRTX |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 53.1 | 53.5 |
| AI ranki | #356 | #334 |
| Latest closei | $239.56 | $508.34 |
| 1M returni | -1.26% | -7.92% |
| 6M returni | -23.00% | +10.98% |
| 1Y returni | -47.02% | +31.32% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | ALNY | VRTX |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $5.3K (-47.0%) started 2025-09-18 | $13.13K (+31.3%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | $13.06K (+30.6%) started 2021-09-20 | $27.38K (+173.8%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $31.07K (+210.7%) started 2016-09-19 | $55.7K (+457.0%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | ALNY | VRTX |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $33.28B | $137.3B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 43.32 | 31.55 |
| Forward P/Ei | 19.94 | 24.63 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | 10.42 |
| EV/Revenuei | 6.86 | 10.44 |
| Analyst targeti | $371.35 | $563.12 |
| Target upsidei | +49.33% | +3.96% |
| Metric | ALNY | VRTX |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 66.90% | 12.50% |
| Earnings growthi | N/A | 8.00% |
| EPS growthi | N/A | +8.00% |
| FCF margini | +5.65% | +20.88% |
| Operating margini | 17.93% | 38.05% |
| Profit margini | 16.13% | 35.00% |
| ROIC proxyi | 96.56% | 23.54% |
| Return on equityi | 96.56% | 23.54% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | N/A |
| Payout ratioi | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | N/A |
| Betai | 0.30 | 0.30 |
| Debt/equityi | 220.62 | 9.77 |
| Current ratioi | 3.06 | 3.19 |
| Quick ratioi | 2.79 | 2.54 |
Over the past year, ALNY and VRTX have moved weakly in the same direction (correlation of 0.27), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | ALNY | VRTX |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -47.02% | +31.32% |
| CAGRi | -47.04% | +31.34% | |
| Volatilityi | 47.10% | 28.72% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -1.19 | 0.94 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -1.41 | 1.56 | |
| Max drawdowni | 58.17% | 15.21% | |
| Current drawdowni | 51.23% | 8.89% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 29.90% | 5.53% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 34.03% | 7.25% | |
| Max daily dropi | 28.31% | 4.56% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 24.38% | 9.32% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +30.58% | +173.79% |
| CAGRi | +5.49% | +22.34% | |
| Volatilityi | 50.93% | 28.96% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.26 | 0.69 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.41 | 0.97 | |
| Max drawdowni | 58.17% | 29.07% | |
| Current drawdowni | 51.23% | 8.89% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 20.20% | 7.22% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 24.45% | 9.56% | |
| Max daily dropi | 28.31% | 20.60% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 24.38% | 20.71% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +210.71% | +457.02% |
| CAGRi | +12.01% | +18.74% | |
| Volatilityi | 54.27% | 32.67% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.40 | 0.55 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.61 | 0.82 | |
| Max drawdowni | 59.78% | 41.60% | |
| Current drawdowni | 51.23% | 8.89% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 22.91% | 10.93% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 27.78% | 14.67% | |
| Max daily dropi | 48.49% | 20.70% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 49.44% | 22.29% |
| Category | ALNY | VRTX |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated |
| Sector | Healthcare | Healthcare |
| Industry | Biotechnology | Biotechnology |
| Core business | Alnylam is the leading RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics company, developing drugs that silence specific genes to treat rare diseases. Its commercial products include Onpattro (hATTR amyloidosis), Givlaari (AHP), Oxlumo (primary hyperoxaluria), and Leqvio (inclisiran for cardiovascular, partnered with Novartis). Amvuttra (vutrisiran) for hATTR is the most recent and largest commercial product. RNAi drugs silence messenger RNA from a target gene, providing a fundamentally different mechanism from small molecules or antibodies. | Vertex's Trikafta CF franchise generates $8B+ annually with near-monopoly in CF treatment for 90% of patients. Vertex is diversifying into pain (VX-548), kidney disease (IgA nephropathy), and gene editing (Casgevy). Vertex uses small molecule drug design as its primary modality — a contrast with Alnylam's RNAi platform approach. |
| Investor focus | Investors track Amvuttra revenue growth and global rollout, Leqvio cardiovascular lipid-lowering adoption (via Novartis partnership), pipeline programs in hypertension, complement disorders, and CNS, and the path to sustained profitability. | Investors focus on CF revenue sustainability, VX-548 pain launch, kidney pipeline clinical readouts, and Casgevy gene therapy adoption. |
- Pioneer and leader in RNAi therapeutics — Alnylam's platform enables targeting genes that small molecules cannot inhibit
- Amvuttra's subcutaneous quarterly dosing is a major patient convenience advantage over Onpattro's biweekly IV infusion in hATTR treatment
- Leqvio partnership with Novartis provides a large commercial revenue stream in cardiovascular without Alnylam bearing US commercial costs
- CF near-monopoly generates industry-leading margins and cash flows that fund pipeline diversification
- VX-548 addresses the large and underserved non-opioid pain market with regulatory approval in hand
- Casgevy gene editing for sickle cell and thalassemia represents a curative approach to serious hemoglobin disorders
- hATTR amyloidosis market is competitive with Pfizer's Vyndamax/Vyndaqel stabilizers and BridgeBio's acoramidis competing alongside Alnylam's silencing approach
- Revenue scale is still modest relative to Vertex — profitability requires Amvuttra reaching $1B+ annual revenue
- Pipeline diversification beyond TTR diseases is important for long-term platform value, but early-stage programs are years from commercialization
- CF market approaching saturation limits the organic growth of Vertex's primary revenue source
- VX-548 competition from generic analgesics and entrenched opioids creates pricing pressure in the pain market
- Pipeline diversification is necessary but early-stage results have shown some mixed clinical data in kidney disease
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.