ARQT vs ARGX vs VRTX Stock Comparison

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Argenx Se and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ARGX Argenx Se
$891.76 -8.3% 1M +6.6% 1Y
Market cap
$55.00B
P/E
29.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.82B
Div. yield
–
Biotechnology Healthcare
3 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

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

QuestionARQTARGXVRTXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.16B $55.00B $137.16B VRTX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 145.7x 29.3x 31.1x ARGX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 62.9x 29.1x 29.0x VRTX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +76.1% +61.5% +10.2% ARQT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.1% 32.3% 35.0% VRTX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.6% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +26.1% +6.6% +25.4% ARQT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.2%/yr +24.2%/yr +23.4%/yr ARGX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 51.3% 36.9% 29.0% VRTX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 76/100 92/100 76/100 ARGX

Percentile Scorecard

ARQTARGXVRTX

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

AxisARQTARGXVRTX
Valuation 70 #188 of 625 84 #101 of 625 80 #124 of 625
Growth 96 #28 of 602 94 #35 of 602 60 #241 of 602
Profitability 89 #60 of 549 98 #11 of 549 95 #30 of 549
Financial Health 47 #347 of 654 – 54 #304 of 654
Shareholder Returns 77 #87 of 367 – 93 #28 of 367
Overall 76 92 76
  • ARQT ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • ARGX ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • VRTX ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodARQTARGXVRTXSPY
1 month +15.1%-8.3%+0.4% +0.9%
3 months +12.9%+1.0%+9.6% +5.9%
6 months +40.6%+14.9%+25.2% +8.5%
Year to date +8.3%+6.0%+16.8% +13.3%
1 year +26.1%+6.6%+25.4% +12.4%
3 years +1,246.9%+93.9%+49.1% +88.1%
3 years, per year +138.1%+24.7%+14.3% +23.5%
5 years +48.5%+195.3%+186.4% +68.2%
5 years, per year +8.2%+24.2%+23.4% +11.0%
10 years ——+582.8% +263.4%
10 years, per year ——+21.2% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureARQTARGXVRTXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 51.3%36.9%29.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 49.1%34.6%25.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.050.390.50 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.510.180.87 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -93.2%-38.2%-29.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.2%-15.8%-5.1% -0.9%
52-week high $32.82$1,058.90$557.96 $779.14
52-week low $19.50$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.

MultipleARQTARGXVRTX
P/E now vs peer median 143.9xmedian 17.4x 29.1xmedian 17.4x 30.5xmedian 17.4x
P/S now vs peer median 8.5xmedian 9.1x 9.5xmedian 9.1x 10.7xmedian 9.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 17.1x —median 17.1x 25.3xmedian 17.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 100.9xmedian 19.0x —median 19.0x 35.4xmedian 19.0x
P/B now vs peer median 17.9xmedian 2.2x —median 2.2x 6.6xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 5.37median 0.34 0.28median 0.34 3.01median 0.34

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 monthsARQTARGXVRTX
Revenue $463.98M $5.82B $12.59B
Gross profit $422.89M $5.24B $10.82B
Operating income $34.25M $1.74B $4.78B
Net income $28.52M $1.88B $4.41B
Free cash flow $39.15M – $3.80B
R&D $91.04M $1.80B $3.91B
EPS (diluted) $0.21 $28.43 $17.26
Cash & equivalents – – $6.14B
Total debt $108.90M – –
Shares (diluted) 135.90M 66.03M 255.20M
Enterprise value $3.44B $55.00B $109.17B

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
MetricARQTARGXVRTX
P/E 143.9x 29.1x 30.5x
P/FCF 100.9x – 35.4x
P/Operating cash flow 100.5x – 31.3x
P/S 8.5x 9.5x 10.7x
P/B 17.9x – 6.6x
P/Tangible book 19.1x – 6.8x
EV/EBITDA – – 25.3x
EV/EBIT 112.5x 31.7x 26.4x
EV/Revenue 8.3x 9.5x 10.0x
EV/FCF 98.4x – 33.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 98.1x – 29.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 5.37 0.28 3.01

Growth

14 metrics
MetricARQTARGXVRTX
Revenue growth (1Y) 76.1% 61.5% 10.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 241.4% 80.5% 9.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 80.2% 62.2% 10.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 256.4% 80.0% 9.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 139.9% 120.6% 21.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 28.2% 85.1% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 130.6% 22.5% 21.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 27.8% 115.5% 9.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 128.6% 20.9% 22.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 26.8% 104.8% 10.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 160.0% – 11.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.8% – 1.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 159.0% – 8.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.8% – -0.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricARQTARGXVRTX
Gross margin 91.1% 90.0% 86.0%
EBITDA margin – – 39.7%
Operating margin 7.4% 29.9% 38.0%
Pretax margin 6.3% 32.6% 41.9%
Net margin 6.1% 32.3% 35.0%
FCF margin 8.4% – 30.2%
Operating cash flow margin 8.5% – 34.1%
Return on equity 13.9% – 22.2%
Return on assets 6.0% – 16.3%
Return on invested capital 10.6% – –
Return on capital employed 10.9% – 20.8%
Asset turnover 1.0x – 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x – 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 9.4% – 5.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricARQTARGXVRTX
Debt / assets 22.3% – –
Debt / equity 0.5x – –
Net debt / EBITDA – – –
Debt / FCF 2.8x – –
Liabilities / assets 54.8% – 26.2%
Equity / assets 45.2% – 73.8%
Interest coverage 2.5x 10,120x –
Current ratio 2.9x – 3.2x
Quick ratio 2.2x – 2.5x
Cash ratio 1.3x – 2.0x
Altman Z-score 7.53 – 13.43

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricARQTARGXVRTX
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield -0.2% – 1.4%
Shareholder yield -0.2% – 1.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusARQTARGXVRTX
Forward P/E 62.9xFY2026 29.1xFY2026 29.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.50FY2026 $30.63FY2026 $18.24FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +56.5%FY2026 -0.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +152.0% +26.9% +23.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $565.04MFY2026 $6.08BFY2026 $12.67BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +50.2%FY2026 +43.1%FY2026 +5.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.0% +22.9% +18.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersARQTARGXVRTX
Held by institutions 100.0% 46.1% 95.1%
Institutions holding 271 504 1,745
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.4% -2.0% +3.9%
Institutions buying 138 264 902
Institutions selling 98 160 605
Buyers to sellers 1.41 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.

ARQTARGXVRTX
ARQT 1.00 0.17 0.21
ARGX 0.17 1.00 0.35
VRTX 0.21 0.35 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ARQT, ARGX and VRTX?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) $4.16B, Argenx Se (ARGX) $55.00B, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) $137.16B.

Which stock is cheaper, ARQT, ARGX and VRTX?

Argenx Se (ARGX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) 145.7x, Argenx Se (ARGX) 29.3x, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 31.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) is cheapest (Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) 62.9x, Argenx Se (ARGX) 29.1x, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 29.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) +76.1%, Argenx Se (ARGX) +61.5%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +10.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) has the highest net margin (Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) 6.1%, Argenx Se (ARGX) 32.3%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 35.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) returned the most: Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) +26.1%, Argenx Se (ARGX) +6.6%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +25.4%. Over five years, Argenx Se (ARGX) compounded fastest (Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) +8.2%/yr, Argenx Se (ARGX) +24.2%/yr, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +23.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) has been the steadiest (Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) 51.3%, Argenx Se (ARGX) 36.9%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 29.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ARQT, 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, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 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.