AMGN vs ARGX vs VRTX Stock Comparison

Amgen, Argenx Se and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AMGN Amgen Inc
$444.63 +7.2% 1M +52.4% 1Y
Market cap
$242.06B
P/E
27.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$38.10B
Div. yield
0.02%
Biotechnology Healthcare
4 wins
ARGX Argenx Se
$869.33 -9.4% 1M +6.4% 1Y
Market cap
$54.07B
P/E
28.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.82B
Div. yield
–
Biotechnology Healthcare
3 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Amgen leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Amgen 4, Argenx Se 3, Vertex Pharmaceuticals 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAMGNARGXVRTXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $242.06B $54.07B $132.25B AMGN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 27.7x 28.8x 30.0x AMGN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.4x 28.4x 28.4x AMGN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.1% +61.5% +10.2% ARGX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 23.0% 32.3% 35.0% VRTX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.3% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.7x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +52.4% +6.4% +22.8% AMGN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +16.6%/yr +25.5%/yr +23.4%/yr ARGX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.7% 37.0% 29.0% VRTX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 92/100 76/100 ARGX

Percentile Scorecard

AMGNARGXVRTX

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAMGNARGXVRTX
Valuation 85 #94 of 626 83 #108 of 626 80 #124 of 626
Growth 61 #234 of 604 95 #34 of 604 60 #245 of 604
Profitability 94 #33 of 555 98 #11 of 555 95 #31 of 555
Financial Health 22 #512 of 658 – 53 #308 of 658
Shareholder Returns 68 #117 of 368 – 93 #27 of 368
Overall 66 92 76
  • AMGN ranked among 673 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • ARGX ranked among 673 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • VRTX ranked among 673 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAMGNARGXVRTXSPY
1 month +7.2%-9.4%-1.7% -0.8%
3 months +18.2%-2.2%+8.0% +3.5%
6 months +30.7%+10.9%+21.5% +7.0%
Year to date +35.8%+3.4%+14.1% +12.2%
1 year +52.4%+6.4%+22.8% +13.0%
3 years +70.0%+89.0%+45.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +19.4%+23.7%+13.4% +23.1%
5 years +115.2%+210.9%+186.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year +16.6%+25.5%+23.4% +11.0%
10 years +179.7%—+557.5% +258.0%
10 years, per year +10.8%—+20.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAMGNARGXVRTXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.7%37.0%29.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 27.9%34.6%25.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.450.390.49 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.760.170.79 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -26.7%-38.2%-29.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -0.6%-17.9%-7.3% -1.8%
52-week high $447.28$1,058.90$557.96 $779.14
52-week low $291.16$663.93$409.47 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAMGNARGXVRTX
P/E now vs peer median 27.5xmedian 17.1x 28.4xmedian 17.1x 29.8xmedian 17.1x
P/S now vs peer median 6.3xmedian 8.8x 9.2xmedian 8.8x 10.4xmedian 8.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.6xmedian 17.1x —median 17.1x 24.7xmedian 17.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 23.6xmedian 18.0x —median 18.0x 34.5xmedian 18.0x
P/B now vs peer median 20.6xmedian 2.1x —median 2.1x 6.5xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 10.36median 0.31 0.27median 0.31 2.94median 0.31

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAMGNARGXVRTX
Revenue $38.10B $5.82B $12.59B
Gross profit $26.48B $5.24B $10.82B
Operating income $11.43B $1.74B $4.78B
Net income $8.74B $1.88B $4.41B
Free cash flow $10.18B – $3.80B
R&D $7.63B $1.80B $3.91B
EPS (diluted) $16.07 $28.43 $17.26
Cash & equivalents $13.99B – $6.14B
Total debt $57.30B – –
Shares (diluted) 544.00M 66.03M 255.20M
Enterprise value $197.46B $54.07B $104.25B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAMGNARGXVRTX
P/E 27.5x 28.4x 29.8x
P/FCF 23.6x – 34.5x
P/Operating cash flow 19.3x – 30.5x
P/S 6.3x 9.2x 10.4x
P/B 20.6x – 6.5x
P/Tangible book -27.3x – 6.6x
EV/EBITDA 17.6x – 24.7x
EV/EBIT 24.8x 30.9x 25.8x
EV/Revenue 7.4x 9.2x 9.8x
EV/FCF 27.9x – 32.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 22.7x – 28.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 10.36 0.27 2.94

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAMGNARGXVRTX
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.1% 61.5% 10.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.7% 80.5% 9.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 17.6% 62.2% 10.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 10.3% 80.0% 9.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 39.5% 120.6% 21.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.4% 85.1% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 32.1% 22.5% 21.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 3.1% 115.5% 9.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 31.4% 20.9% 22.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 104.8% 10.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 3.9% – 11.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.9% – 1.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -4.1% – 8.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.7% – -0.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAMGNARGXVRTX
Gross margin 69.5% 90.0% 86.0%
EBITDA margin 42.2% – 39.7%
Operating margin 30.0% 29.9% 38.0%
Pretax margin 27.0% 32.6% 41.9%
Net margin 23.0% 32.3% 35.0%
FCF margin 26.7% – 30.2%
Operating cash flow margin 32.8% – 34.1%
Return on equity 83.8% – 22.2%
Return on assets 9.3% – 16.3%
Return on invested capital 14.3% – –
Return on capital employed 16.7% – 20.8%
Asset turnover 0.4x – 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x – 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 1.3% – 5.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAMGNARGXVRTX
Debt / assets 59.9% – –
Debt / equity 4.9x – –
Net debt / EBITDA 2.7x – –
Debt / FCF 5.6x – –
Liabilities / assets 87.8% – 26.2%
Equity / assets 12.2% – 73.8%
Interest coverage 4.3x 10,120x –
Current ratio 1.4x – 3.2x
Quick ratio 0.9x – 2.5x
Cash ratio 0.5x – 2.0x
Altman Z-score 2.30 – 13.17

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAMGNARGXVRTX
Dividend yield 2.2% – –
Net buyback yield – – 1.4%
Shareholder yield 2.2% – 1.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 60.4% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 51.9% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 6.3% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 6.7% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAMGNARGXVRTX
Forward P/E 20.4xFY2026 28.4xFY2026 28.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $21.81FY2026 $30.63FY2026 $18.24FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -0.1%FY2026 +56.5%FY2026 -0.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.2% +26.9% +23.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $41.51BFY2026 $6.08BFY2026 $12.67BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.9%FY2026 +43.1%FY2026 +5.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.3% +22.9% +18.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAMGNARGXVRTX
Held by institutions 82.7% 46.1% 95.1%
Institutions holding 3,159 504 1,745
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.5% -2.0% +3.9%
Institutions buying 1,451 264 902
Institutions selling 1,217 160 605
Buyers to sellers 1.19 1.65 1.49

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AMGNARGXVRTX
AMGN 1.00 0.31 0.54
ARGX 0.31 1.00 0.35
VRTX 0.54 0.35 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AMGN, ARGX and VRTX?

Amgen (AMGN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Amgen (AMGN) $242.06B, Argenx Se (ARGX) $54.07B, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) $132.25B.

Which stock is cheaper, AMGN, ARGX and VRTX?

Amgen (AMGN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Amgen (AMGN) 27.7x, Argenx Se (ARGX) 28.8x, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 30.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Amgen (AMGN) is cheapest (Amgen (AMGN) 20.4x, Argenx Se (ARGX) 28.4x, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 28.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Argenx Se (ARGX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Amgen (AMGN) +9.1%, Argenx Se (ARGX) +61.5%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +10.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) has the highest net margin (Amgen (AMGN) 23.0%, Argenx Se (ARGX) 32.3%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 35.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Amgen (AMGN) returned the most: Amgen (AMGN) +52.4%, Argenx Se (ARGX) +6.4%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +22.8%. Over five years, Argenx Se (ARGX) compounded fastest (Amgen (AMGN) +16.6%/yr, Argenx Se (ARGX) +25.5%/yr, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +23.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Amgen (AMGN) 0.02%, Argenx Se (ARGX) 0.00%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 0.00%. Argenx Se (ARGX) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) has been the steadiest (Amgen (AMGN) 29.7%, Argenx Se (ARGX) 37.0%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 29.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AMGN, ARGX and VRTX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Amgen (AMGN) leads on 4. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.