GILD vs VRTX Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Gilead Sciences and Vertex Pharmaceuticals are both large biopharmaceutical companies with dominant franchises, with Gilead built around its HIV treatment and prevention leadership plus a growing oncology business, while Vertex is built around its near-monopoly in cystic fibrosis treatment plus an expanding pipeline into new therapeutic areas.
Gilead offers exposure to a durable HIV franchise diversifying into oncology, while Vertex offers exposure to a dominant cystic fibrosis franchise expanding into pain management and gene editing. Consider whether you prefer Gilead's HIV-to-oncology diversification or Vertex's cystic fibrosis dominance plus pipeline expansion.
GILD holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. GILD leads on both 1-year return (+37.21%) and forward P/E quality (14.73x vs 24.63x for VRTX), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. VRTX leads on both revenue growth (12.50%) and operating margin (38.05%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for GILD (+8.05%) 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.
- Want exposure to a dominant, cash-generative HIV treatment and prevention franchise
- Believe the growing oncology business will provide meaningful revenue diversification over time
- Value strong free cash flow generation supporting continued pipeline and business development investment
- Are comfortable with eventual HIV franchise patent expiration dynamics requiring pipeline replenishment
- Want exposure to a near-monopoly position in cystic fibrosis treatment with a highly durable core franchise
- Believe the expanding pipeline into pain management and gene editing therapies will provide new growth vectors
- Value a strong track record of successful drug development and commercialization execution
- Are comfortable with revenue concentration in cystic fibrosis despite ongoing diversification efforts
| Metric | GILD | VRTX |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 53.9 | 57.3 |
| AI ranki | #507 | #191 |
| Latest closei | $167.47 | $530.76 |
| 1M returni | +15.70% | +5.16% |
| 3M returni | +23.82% | +10.87% |
| 6M returni | +25.46% | +25.07% |
| 1Y returni | +37.21% | +24.59% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | GILD | VRTX |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $13.62K (+36.2%) started 2025-11-04 | $12.59K (+25.9%) started 2025-11-04 |
| 5Y ago | $33.68K (+236.8%) started 2021-11-05 | $27.52K (+175.2%) started 2021-11-05 |
| 10Y ago | $44.86K (+348.6%) started 2016-11-07 | $63.78K (+537.8%) started 2016-11-07 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | GILD | VRTX |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $180.64B | $137.3B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 17.74 | 31.55 |
| Forward P/Ei | 14.73 | 24.63 |
| Price/Salesi | 4.87 | 10.42 |
| EV/Revenuei | 6.63 | 10.44 |
| Analyst targeti | $157.41 | $563.12 |
| Target upsidei | +8.05% | +3.96% |
| Metric | GILD | VRTX |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 10.20% | 12.50% |
| Earnings growthi | 54.80% | 8.00% |
| EPS growthi | +54.80% | +8.00% |
| FCF margini | +32.07% | +20.88% |
| Operating margini | 33.68% | 38.05% |
| Profit margini | -10.64% | 35.00% |
| ROIC proxyi | -20.68% | 23.54% |
| Return on equityi | -20.68% | 23.54% |
| Dividend yieldi | 2.20% | N/A |
| Payout ratioi | 43.46% | 0.00% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | N/A |
| Betai | 0.34 | 0.30 |
| Debt/equityi | 223.47 | 9.77 |
| Current ratioi | 1.26 | 3.19 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.90 | 2.54 |
Over the past year, GILD and VRTX have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.49), 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 | GILD | VRTX |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +36.15% | +25.87% |
| CAGRi | +36.21% | +25.91% | |
| Volatilityi | 27.10% | 29.30% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 1.13 | 0.79 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.81 | 1.27 | |
| Max drawdowni | 22.03% | 15.21% | |
| Current drawdowni | 0.00% | 4.87% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 8.23% | 6.35% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 10.34% | 7.78% | |
| Max daily dropi | 3.72% | 4.56% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 5.98% | 9.32% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +190.37% | +175.22% |
| CAGRi | +23.78% | +22.46% | |
| Volatilityi | 24.96% | 29.07% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.80 | 0.70 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.25 | 0.97 | |
| Max drawdowni | 26.59% | 29.07% | |
| Current drawdowni | 0.00% | 4.87% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 8.88% | 7.37% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 10.93% | 9.64% | |
| Max daily dropi | 10.15% | 20.60% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 9.78% | 20.71% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +210.20% | +537.78% |
| CAGRi | +12.00% | +20.38% | |
| Volatilityi | 25.67% | 32.56% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.40 | 0.60 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.59 | 0.88 | |
| Max drawdowni | 30.47% | 41.60% | |
| Current drawdowni | 0.00% | 4.87% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 12.92% | 10.91% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 14.94% | 14.66% | |
| Max daily dropi | 10.15% | 20.70% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 12.29% | 22.29% |
| Category | GILD | VRTX |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Gilead Sciences, Inc. | Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated |
| Sector | Healthcare | Healthcare |
| Industry | Drug Manufacturers - General | Biotechnology |
| Core business | A biopharmaceutical company best known for its dominant HIV treatment and prevention franchise, alongside a growing oncology business and other therapeutic areas including liver disease treatments. | A biopharmaceutical company with a dominant position in cystic fibrosis treatments, alongside an expanding pipeline into pain management, gene editing therapies, and other therapeutic areas. |
| Investor focus | HIV franchise durability and market share trends, oncology portfolio growth, and new drug launch contributions from the pipeline. | Cystic fibrosis franchise growth and market penetration, new therapeutic area pipeline progress including pain management and gene editing therapies, and overall revenue diversification pace. |
- Dominant position in HIV treatment and prevention provides a durable, cash-generative core franchise
- Growing oncology business diversifies revenue beyond the core HIV franchise into a large addressable market
- Strong free cash flow generation from the HIV franchise supports continued research and development and business development investment
- Near-monopoly position in cystic fibrosis treatment provides a highly durable, high-margin core franchise
- Expanding pipeline into pain management and gene editing therapies provides new long-term growth vectors beyond cystic fibrosis
- Strong track record of successful drug development and commercialization supports confidence in pipeline execution
- HIV franchise faces eventual patent expiration and competitive dynamics that require pipeline replenishment over time
- Oncology business operates in a highly competitive therapeutic area against numerous well-resourced competitors
- New drug launches require successful clinical execution and commercial adoption to offset any core franchise pressure
- Heavy revenue concentration in cystic fibrosis creates dependency on a single therapeutic franchise despite its dominance
- New therapeutic area expansion into pain management and gene editing carries clinical and commercial execution risk
- Eventual competitive entry into cystic fibrosis treatment, while not imminent, remains a long-term consideration
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