ILMN vs. VRTX: Illumina vs. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Illumina (ILMN) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) both fall under the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group, but ILMN is classified in Life Sciences Tools & Services while VRTX is classified in Biotechnology.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Illumina (ILMN) has an aggressive beta of 1.46, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) is defensive at 0.29 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Both Illumina (ILMN) at 32.39% and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 20.80% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

Both Illumina (ILMN) at 19.72% and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 30.70% keep an unusually large share of revenue as bottom-line profit — each net margin clears its industry’s benchmark range.

Both Illumina (ILMN) at 20.02% and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 35.57% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 8.90% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Illumina (ILMN) at -0.66% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

Neither Illumina (ILMN) nor Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) reports a EPS growth value for this period, so a direct comparison isn't possible.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Illumina (ILMN) at 2.63 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 2.34 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for VRTX.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 0.31 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while Illumina (ILMN) at 0.74 uses more debt funding than most peers.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Neither Illumina (ILMN) nor Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

Neither Illumina (ILMN) nor Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Both Illumina (ILMN) at 36.68 and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 35.21 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

On P/S ratio, both Illumina (ILMN) at 7.10 and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 10.71 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

Both Illumina (ILMN) at 10.30 and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 6.63 carry a premium to book value versus peers, sitting in the upper P/B ratio quartile of their industries.

Valuation Metrics