VRTX vs. WST: Vertex Pharmaceuticals vs. West Pharmaceutical Services Stock Comparison

Company Profile

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

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 Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 20.80% and West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 21.23% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

Both Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 30.70% and West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 18.81% keep an unusually large share of revenue as bottom-line profit — each net margin clears its industry’s benchmark range.

Both Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 35.57% and West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 25.37% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Both Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 8.90% and West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 6.25% 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: West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) reports EPS growth of 1.49%, ranked against its industry; Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) has no EPS growth figure this period.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 2.82 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.

Both Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 0.31 and West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 0.11 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

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 West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) reports a yield of 0.22%, 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 West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) reports a payout of 9.88%, ranking against industry peers normally.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 35.21 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 44.87 sits in the richer quartile — WST needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

On P/S ratio, both Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 10.71 and West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 8.20 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

Both Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) at 6.63 and West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) at 9.40 carry a premium to book value versus peers, sitting in the upper P/B ratio quartile of their industries.

Valuation Metrics