RPRX vs. VRTX: Royalty Pharma vs. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Royalty Pharma (RPRX) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) both fall under the Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences industry group, but RPRX is classified in Pharmaceuticals while VRTX is classified in Biotechnology.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) has more than two decades of public-market history since July 24, 1991, whereas Royalty Pharma (RPRX) listed on June 16, 2020 and has a much shorter record to draw on.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Both Royalty Pharma (RPRX) at 12.09% 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 Royalty Pharma (RPRX) at 25.70% 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 Royalty Pharma (RPRX) at 81.32% 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

Both Royalty Pharma (RPRX) at 5.06% and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 8.90% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Only one side can be read here: Royalty Pharma (RPRX) reports EPS growth of 23.09%, ranked against its industry; Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) has no EPS growth figure this period.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Both Royalty Pharma (RPRX) at 1.29 and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 2.34 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 0.31 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while Royalty Pharma (RPRX) at 0.88 uses more debt funding than most peers.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Royalty Pharma (RPRX) reports a yield of 1.37%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Royalty Pharma (RPRX) reports a payout of 60.46%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 35.21 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Royalty Pharma (RPRX) at 43.99 sits in the richer quartile — RPRX needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

On P/S ratio, both Royalty Pharma (RPRX) at 14.79 and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 10.71 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

Royalty Pharma (RPRX) at 4.39 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 6.63 carries an above-peer premium to book — VRTX is pricier on assets.

Valuation Metrics