VRTX vs RARE Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Vertex Pharmaceuticals is generally evaluated as a highly profitable, large-scale biotech anchored by its dominant cystic fibrosis franchise, while Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical is assessed as a rare disease-focused company still scaling multiple product launches toward overall profitability. The comparison contrasts an established profit engine against a diversified but earlier-stage rare disease portfolio.
Use this comparison to weigh Vertex's established franchise profitability against Ultragenyx's diversified rare disease pipeline and path toward broader commercial scale.
VRTX holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. VRTX leads on both 1-year return (+39.26%) and forward P/E quality (24.63x vs 37.87x for RARE), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. On fundamentals, RARE is growing revenue faster (28.10%), while VRTX maintains the higher operating margin (38.05%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for RARE (+118.38%) 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 earlier-stage biotechs
- Are comfortable with a premium valuation reflecting franchise quality
- Believe rare disease therapeutics can achieve durable pricing power despite small patient populations
- Want exposure to a diversified pipeline spanning multiple modalities
- Are comfortable with ongoing losses as the company scales commercial launches
- Value specialized rare disease regulatory and commercial expertise
| Metric | VRTX | RARE |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 49.5 | 25.3 |
| AI rank | #484 | #2744 |
| Latest close | $544.52 | $25.21 |
| 1M return | +14.13% | +1.20% |
| 6M return | +12.03% | +7.78% |
| 1Y return | +39.26% | -15.85% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | VRTX | RARE |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $13.58K (+35.8%) started 2025-09-02 | $7.87K (-21.3%) started 2025-09-02 |
| 5Y ago | $27.62K (+176.2%) started 2021-09-01 | $2.62K (-73.8%) started 2021-08-31 |
| 10Y ago | $57.47K (+474.7%) started 2016-09-01 | $3.82K (-61.8%) started 2016-08-31 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | VRTX | RARE |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $137.3B | $2.49B |
| Trailing P/E | 31.55 | N/A |
| Forward P/E | 24.63 | 37.87 |
| Price/Sales | 10.42 | 3.47 |
| EV/Revenue | 10.44 | 4.79 |
| Analyst target | $563.12 | $55.05 |
| Target upside | +3.96% | +118.38% |
| Metric | VRTX | RARE |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 12.50% | 28.10% |
| Earnings growth | 8.00% | N/A |
| EPS growth | +8.00% | N/A |
| FCF margin | +20.88% | -25.08% |
| Operating margin | 38.05% | -35.05% |
| Profit margin | 35.00% | -81.73% |
| ROIC proxy | 23.54% | N/A |
| Return on equity | 23.54% | N/A |
| Dividend yield | N/A | 0.00% |
| Beta | 0.30 | 0.31 |
| Debt/equity | 9.77 | N/A |
| Current ratio | 3.19 | 1.73 |
| Quick ratio | 2.54 | 1.41 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | VRTX | RARE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +35.79% | -21.29% |
| CAGR | +36.04% | -21.41% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.06 | -0.04 | |
| Max drawdown | 15.21% | 49.37% | |
| Max daily drop | 4.56% | 42.32% | |
| Max wkly drop | 9.32% | 41.13% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +176.21% | -73.82% |
| CAGR | +22.54% | -23.51% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.70 | -0.29 | |
| Max drawdown | 29.07% | 81.93% | |
| Max daily drop | 20.60% | 42.32% | |
| Max wkly drop | 20.71% | 41.13% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +474.69% | -61.76% |
| CAGR | +19.11% | -9.17% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.56 | 0.03 | |
| Max drawdown | 41.60% | 89.57% | |
| Max daily drop | 20.70% | 42.32% | |
| Max wkly drop | 22.29% | 41.13% |
| Category | VRTX | RARE |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical 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 gene-editing treatments through its clinical pipeline. | Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical develops and commercializes therapies for rare and ultra-rare genetic diseases, with a portfolio of approved products and a broad clinical pipeline. |
| 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 commercial growth of its approved rare disease therapies, pipeline progress across gene therapy and other modalities, and the path toward overall profitability. |
- 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
- Growing portfolio of approved therapies for ultra-rare genetic diseases
- Diversified pipeline spanning multiple modalities including gene therapy
- Established rare disease commercial and regulatory expertise
- 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
- Company remains unprofitable while scaling multiple product launches
- Small patient populations limit peak revenue potential per indication
- Execution risk across a broad, resource-intensive pipeline
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