VRTX vs BMRN Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Vertex Pharmaceuticals and BioMarin both specialize in rare disease treatments, but Vertex holds a near-monopoly position in the large cystic fibrosis market that generates substantial profitability, while BioMarin maintains a more diversified portfolio of smaller rare genetic disease treatments alongside emerging gene therapy programs.
Vertex offers exposure to a dominant, highly profitable cystic fibrosis franchise with expansion into new therapeutic areas, while BioMarin offers exposure to a diversified rare disease portfolio with gene therapy pipeline optionality. Consider whether you prefer Vertex's franchise dominance and scale or BioMarin's diversified rare disease and gene therapy exposure.
VRTX holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. VRTX has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+29.98% vs +7.22%), though BMRN has the better forward P/E setup (10.20x vs 24.63x for VRTX). On fundamentals, BMRN is growing revenue faster (19.90%), while VRTX maintains the higher operating margin (38.05%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for BMRN (+36.51%) 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 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
- Prefer a larger-scale, more profitable rare disease-focused biotechnology company
- Want diversified exposure across multiple approved rare genetic disease treatments
- Believe gene therapy pipeline programs offer meaningful long-term growth potential
- Value long-standing expertise in rare disease drug development and commercialization
- Are comfortable with the inherently limited revenue potential of individual rare disease products
| Metric | VRTX | BMRN |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 57.9 | 27.3 |
| AI ranki | #191 | #2394 |
| Latest closei | $553.15 | $57.44 |
| 1M returni | +9.59% | +0.45% |
| 3M returni | +17.51% | -4.27% |
| 6M returni | +28.68% | +3.57% |
| 1Y returni | +29.98% | +7.22% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | VRTX | BMRN |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $12.98K (+29.8%) started 2025-11-03 | $10.87K (+8.7%) started 2025-11-03 |
| 5Y ago | $29.26K (+192.6%) started 2021-11-03 | $6.88K (-31.2%) started 2021-11-03 |
| 10Y ago | $71.2K (+612.0%) started 2016-11-03 | $7.31K (-26.9%) started 2016-11-03 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | VRTX | BMRN |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $137.3B | $12.91B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 31.55 | 180.24 |
| Forward P/Ei | 24.63 | 10.20 |
| Price/Salesi | 10.42 | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 10.44 | 4.66 |
| Analyst targeti | $563.12 | $91.04 |
| Target upsidei | +3.96% | +36.51% |
| Metric | VRTX | BMRN |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 12.50% | 19.90% |
| Earnings growthi | 8.00% | -81.30% |
| EPS growthi | +8.00% | -81.30% |
| FCF margini | +20.88% | +2.50% |
| Operating margini | 38.05% | 21.16% |
| Profit margini | 35.00% | 2.14% |
| ROIC proxyi | 23.54% | 1.18% |
| Return on equityi | 23.54% | 1.18% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | N/A |
| Payout ratioi | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | N/A |
| Betai | 0.30 | 0.23 |
| Debt/equityi | 9.77 | 66.47 |
| Current ratioi | 3.19 | 2.39 |
| Quick ratioi | 2.54 | 1.16 |
Over the past year, VRTX and BMRN have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.42), 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 | VRTX | BMRN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +29.85% | +8.68% |
| CAGRi | +29.96% | +8.71% | |
| Volatilityi | 29.30% | 35.26% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.89 | 0.28 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.45 | 0.50 | |
| Max drawdowni | 15.21% | 22.58% | |
| Current drawdowni | 0.86% | 18.22% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 6.33% | 9.28% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 7.77% | 11.13% | |
| Max daily dropi | 4.56% | 4.35% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 9.32% | 8.75% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +192.56% | -31.19% |
| CAGRi | +23.96% | -7.21% | |
| Volatilityi | 29.08% | 32.75% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.74 | -0.20 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.03 | -0.29 | |
| Max drawdowni | 29.07% | 57.64% | |
| Current drawdowni | 0.86% | 51.02% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 7.36% | 30.39% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 9.64% | 35.15% | |
| Max daily dropi | 20.60% | 17.71% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 20.71% | 17.74% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +612.00% | -26.94% |
| CAGRi | +21.69% | -3.09% | |
| Volatilityi | 32.59% | 35.04% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.63 | -0.04 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.93 | -0.05 | |
| Max drawdowni | 41.60% | 62.09% | |
| Current drawdowni | 0.86% | 56.16% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 10.90% | 30.43% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 14.65% | 34.87% | |
| Max daily dropi | 20.70% | 35.28% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 22.29% | 38.91% |
| Category | VRTX | BMRN |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. |
| Sector | Healthcare | Healthcare |
| Industry | Biotechnology | Biotechnology |
| Core business | 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. | A biotechnology company specializing in treatments for rare genetic diseases, with a portfolio of approved enzyme replacement and other specialty therapies alongside a pipeline including gene therapy programs. |
| Investor focus | Cystic fibrosis franchise growth and market penetration, new therapeutic area pipeline progress including pain management and gene editing therapies, and overall revenue diversification pace. | Approved rare disease product portfolio revenue growth, gene therapy program commercial uptake, and overall pipeline progress across additional rare disease indications. |
- 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
- Established portfolio of approved rare genetic disease treatments provides diversified, recurring specialty pharmaceutical revenue
- Long-standing expertise in rare disease drug development and commercialization supports continued pipeline execution
- Gene therapy pipeline programs offer exposure to an emerging treatment modality with significant long-term potential
- 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
- Rare disease focus means individual product revenue potential is inherently limited by smaller patient population sizes
- Gene therapy commercial uptake has faced challenges related to pricing, administration complexity, and market adoption pace
- Smaller overall scale relative to larger biopharmaceutical companies limits some competitive and negotiating advantages
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