ARQT vs MRNA vs VRTX Stock Comparison

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Moderna and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MRNA Moderna, Inc.
$207.97 +4.6% 1M +680.1% 1Y
Market cap
$82.98B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$2.23B
Div. yield
–
Biotechnology Healthcare
1 win

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Vertex Pharmaceuticals leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Vertex Pharmaceuticals 7, Arcutis Biotherapeutics 2, Moderna 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionARQTMRNAVRTXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.98B $82.98B $132.00B VRTX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 145.0x -26.3x 30.0x VRTX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 63.4x — 28.6x VRTX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +76.1% -27.6% +10.2% ARQT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.1% -141.4% 35.0% VRTX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.6% -43.3% — ARQT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.5x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +61.3% +680.1% +24.0% MRNA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +7.9%/yr -9.8%/yr +23.4%/yr VRTX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 56.7% 130.8% 29.0% VRTX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 76/100 57/100 76/100 VRTX

Percentile Scorecard

ARQTMRNAVRTX

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

AxisARQTMRNAVRTX
Valuation 70 #187 of 625 69 #193 of 625 81 #121 of 625
Growth 96 #28 of 602 18 #493 of 602 60 #241 of 602
Profitability 89 #61 of 551 57 #239 of 551 95 #30 of 551
Financial Health 47 #348 of 656 55 #298 of 656 53 #307 of 656
Shareholder Returns 77 #85 of 365 85 #57 of 365 93 #28 of 365
Overall 76 57 76
  • ARQT ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • MRNA 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

PeriodARQTMRNAVRTXSPY
1 month +17.7%+4.6%-1.0% -0.2%
3 months +11.5%+272.6%+6.2% +3.9%
6 months +36.0%+341.2%+21.1% +8.2%
Year to date +9.1%+605.2%+14.9% +12.9%
1 year +61.3%+680.1%+24.0% +12.3%
3 years +1,256.7%+189.2%+46.7% +87.4%
3 years, per year +138.6%+42.5%+13.6% +23.3%
5 years +46.4%-40.2%+186.3% +67.9%
5 years, per year +7.9%-9.8%+23.4% +10.9%
10 years ——+587.0% +261.1%
10 years, per year ——+21.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureARQTMRNAVRTXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 56.7%130.8%29.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 49.3%79.5%25.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.082.150.49 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.085.200.83 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -93.2%-93.9%-29.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.5%-15.4%-6.6% -1.2%
52-week high $32.82$245.81$557.96 $779.14
52-week low $19.50$22.36$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.

MultipleARQTMRNAVRTX
P/E now vs peer median 145.0xmedian 17.2x -26.3xmedian 17.2x 30.0xmedian 17.2x
P/S now vs peer median 8.6xmedian 9.0x 37.2xmedian 9.0x 10.5xmedian 9.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 16.3x -25.5xmedian 16.3x 24.8xmedian 16.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 101.6xmedian 18.7x -66.7xmedian 18.7x 34.8xmedian 18.7x
P/B now vs peer median 18.0xmedian 2.2x 12.3xmedian 2.2x 6.5xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 5.41median 0.33 0.40median 0.33 2.96median 0.33

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 monthsARQTMRNAVRTX
Revenue $463.98M $2.23B $12.59B
Gross profit $422.89M $521.00M $10.82B
Operating income $34.25M -$3.32B $4.78B
Net income $28.52M -$3.15B $4.41B
Free cash flow $39.15M -$1.24B $3.80B
R&D $91.04M $2.88B $3.91B
EPS (diluted) $0.21 $-7.92 $17.26
Cash & equivalents – $1.72B $6.14B
Total debt $108.90M $591.00M –
Shares (diluted) 135.90M 398.00M 255.20M
Enterprise value $3.26B $62.33B $104.01B

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
MetricARQTMRNAVRTX
P/E 145.0x -26.3x 30.0x
P/FCF 101.6x -66.7x 34.8x
P/Operating cash flow 101.2x -77.3x 30.7x
P/S 8.6x 37.2x 10.5x
P/B 18.0x 12.3x 6.5x
P/Tangible book 19.2x 12.3x 6.7x
EV/EBITDA – -25.5x 24.8x
EV/EBIT 113.4x -23.6x 26.0x
EV/Revenue 8.4x 35.2x 9.9x
EV/FCF 99.2x -63.0x 32.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 98.8x -73.1x 28.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 5.41 0.40 2.96

Growth

14 metrics
MetricARQTMRNAVRTX
Revenue growth (1Y) 76.1% -27.6% 10.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 241.4% -40.6% 9.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 80.2% -67.8% 10.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 256.4% -56.0% 9.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 139.9% -1.4% 21.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 28.2% -103.9% 6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 130.6% -8.5% 21.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 27.8% -66.4% 9.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 128.6% -5.8% 22.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 26.8% -65.1% 10.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 160.0% 60.2% 11.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.8% -68.1% 1.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 159.0% 64.4% 8.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.8% -18.2% -0.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricARQTMRNAVRTX
Gross margin 91.1% 23.4% 86.0%
EBITDA margin – -138.2% 39.7%
Operating margin 7.4% -149.0% 38.0%
Pretax margin 6.3% -138.6% 41.9%
Net margin 6.1% -141.4% 35.0%
FCF margin 8.4% -55.8% 30.2%
Operating cash flow margin 8.5% -48.2% 34.1%
Return on equity 13.9% -44.5% 22.2%
Return on assets 6.0% -28.1% 16.3%
Return on invested capital 10.6% -43.3% –
Return on capital employed 10.9% -38.2% 20.8%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.2x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 0.3x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 9.4% 20.7% 5.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricARQTMRNAVRTX
Debt / assets 22.3% 5.4% –
Debt / equity 0.5x 0.1x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.5x –
Debt / FCF 2.8x -0.5x –
Liabilities / assets 54.8% 38.3% 26.2%
Equity / assets 45.2% 61.7% 73.8%
Interest coverage 2.5x – –
Current ratio 2.9x 2.3x 3.2x
Quick ratio 2.2x 2.0x 2.5x
Cash ratio 1.3x 2.0x 2.0x
Altman Z-score 7.59 12.07 13.25

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricARQTMRNAVRTX
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield -0.2% -0.1% 1.4%
Shareholder yield -0.2% -0.1% 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.

ConsensusARQTMRNAVRTX
Forward P/E 63.4xFY2026 – 28.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.50FY2026 $-8.02FY2026 $18.24FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – – -0.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +152.0% – +23.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $565.04MFY2026 $2.04BFY2026 $12.67BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +50.2%FY2026 +5.1%FY2026 +5.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.0% +26.8% +18.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersARQTMRNAVRTX
Held by institutions 100.0% 80.2% 95.1%
Institutions holding 271 784 1,745
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.4% +3.4% +3.9%
Institutions buying 138 402 902
Institutions selling 98 238 605
Buyers to sellers 1.41 1.69 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.

ARQTMRNAVRTX
ARQT 1.00 0.18 0.21
MRNA 0.18 1.00 0.34
VRTX 0.21 0.34 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ARQT, MRNA and VRTX?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) $3.98B, Moderna (MRNA) $82.98B, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) $132.00B.

Which stock is cheaper, ARQT, MRNA and VRTX?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) 145.0x, Moderna (MRNA) -26.3x, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 30.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) is cheapest (Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) 63.4x, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 28.6x). 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%, Moderna (MRNA) -27.6%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +10.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) has the highest net margin (Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) 6.1%, Moderna (MRNA) -141.4%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 35.0%). On return on invested capital, Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) leads (Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) 10.6%, Moderna (MRNA) -43.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Moderna (MRNA) returned the most: Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) +61.3%, Moderna (MRNA) +680.1%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +24.0%. Over five years, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) compounded fastest (Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) +7.9%/yr, Moderna (MRNA) -9.8%/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) 56.7%, Moderna (MRNA) 130.8%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 29.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ARQT, MRNA 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 7. 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.