VRTX vs ARWR Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Vertex Pharmaceuticals is generally evaluated as an established, profitable biotech with a dominant franchise and diversifying pipeline, while Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals is assessed as an earlier-stage RNAi platform company whose value depends on clinical trial success and partnership execution. The comparison contrasts a proven commercial biotech against a higher-risk, pipeline-driven platform play.
Use this comparison to weigh Vertex's established commercial profitability and diversification against Arrowhead's earlier-stage, higher-risk RNAi platform potential.
ARWR holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. ARWR has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+273.99% vs +39.26%), though VRTX has the better forward P/E setup (24.63x vs -16.92x for ARWR). On fundamentals, ARWR is growing revenue faster (171.00%), while VRTX maintains the higher operating margin (38.05%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for ARWR (+33.73%) than for VRTX (+3.96%).
- Want exposure to an established, highly profitable biotech franchise
- Value pipeline diversification beyond a single disease area
- Prefer lower binary clinical trial risk than early-stage biotechs
- Are comfortable with a premium valuation reflecting franchise quality
- Are comfortable with binary clinical trial and regulatory risk
- Believe RNAi technology represents a durable therapeutic platform
- Value partnership-driven funding reducing near-term dilution risk
- Want higher-risk, higher-potential-reward biotech exposure
| Metric | VRTX | ARWR |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 49.5 | 67.0 |
| AI rank | #484 | #56 |
| Latest close | $544.52 | $82.39 |
| 1M return | +14.13% | -2.67% |
| 6M return | +12.03% | +30.22% |
| 1Y return | +39.26% | +273.99% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | VRTX | ARWR |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $13.58K (+35.8%) started 2025-09-02 | $32.08K (+220.8%) started 2025-09-02 |
| 5Y ago | $27.62K (+176.2%) started 2021-09-01 | $12.28K (+22.8%) started 2021-08-31 |
| 10Y ago | $57.47K (+474.7%) started 2016-09-01 | $118.89K (+1088.9%) started 2016-08-31 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | VRTX | ARWR |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $137.3B | $11.64B |
| Trailing P/E | 31.55 | N/A |
| Forward P/E | 24.63 | -16.92 |
| Price/Sales | 10.42 | 17.38 |
| EV/Revenue | 10.44 | 17.59 |
| Analyst target | $563.12 | $110.18 |
| Target upside | +3.96% | +33.73% |
| Metric | VRTX | ARWR |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 12.50% | 171.00% |
| Earnings growth | 8.00% | N/A |
| EPS growth | +8.00% | N/A |
| FCF margin | +20.88% | -7.26% |
| Operating margin | 38.05% | -226.03% |
| Profit margin | 35.00% | -47.79% |
| ROIC proxy | 23.54% | -55.21% |
| Return on equity | 23.54% | -55.21% |
| Dividend yield | N/A | 0.00% |
| Beta | 0.30 | 1.29 |
| Debt/equity | 9.77 | 295.98 |
| Current ratio | 3.19 | 5.90 |
| Quick ratio | 2.54 | 5.71 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | VRTX | ARWR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +35.79% | +220.83% |
| CAGR | +36.04% | +223.16% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.06 | 2.13 | |
| Max drawdown | 15.21% | 24.64% | |
| Max daily drop | 4.56% | 9.05% | |
| Max wkly drop | 9.32% | 17.32% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +176.21% | +22.75% |
| CAGR | +22.54% | +4.19% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.70 | 0.32 | |
| Max drawdown | 29.07% | 87.89% | |
| Max daily drop | 20.60% | 26.85% | |
| Max wkly drop | 20.71% | 32.69% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +474.69% | +1088.89% |
| CAGR | +19.11% | +28.09% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.56 | 0.67 | |
| Max drawdown | 41.60% | 88.96% | |
| Max daily drop | 20.70% | 67.20% | |
| Max wkly drop | 22.29% | 70.60% |
| Category | VRTX | ARWR |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, Inc. |
| Sector | Healthcare | Biotechnology |
| Industry | Biotechnology | N/A |
| Core business | Vertex Pharmaceuticals develops and markets therapies for cystic fibrosis and is expanding into pain management, diabetes, and other serious diseases through its clinical pipeline. | Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals develops RNA interference therapeutics targeting genetic and metabolic diseases, advancing a pipeline through partnerships with larger pharmaceutical companies. |
| Investor focus | Investors watch cystic fibrosis franchise durability, commercial uptake of newer non-opioid pain and gene-editing therapies, and pipeline diversification progress. | Investors track clinical trial readouts across the RNAi pipeline, partnership and licensing milestone payments, and progress toward first commercial approvals. |
- Dominant, highly profitable franchise in cystic fibrosis treatments
- Strong balance sheet funding pipeline diversification efforts
- Approved gene-editing and non-opioid pain therapies expanding beyond core franchise
- Differentiated RNAi drug discovery platform with broad pipeline applicability
- Multiple partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies providing non-dilutive funding
- Potential for near-term commercial approvals in cardiometabolic disease
- Long-term reliance on cystic fibrosis franchise for the bulk of revenue
- New therapy launches carry commercial execution and reimbursement risk
- Patent and competitive dynamics in core disease areas over time
- Revenue remains dependent on partnership milestones rather than product sales
- Clinical trial risk across an early- to mid-stage pipeline
- Valuation sensitive to binary trial readout outcomes
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