ARQT vs VRTX vs BIIB Stock Comparison

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Biogen Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
BIIB Biogen Inc.
$252.73 +11.0% 1M +68.0% 1Y
Market cap
$36.25B
P/E
43.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$10.03B
Div. yield
–
Biotechnology Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Vertex Pharmaceuticals leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Vertex Pharmaceuticals 6, Biogen 2, Arcutis Biotherapeutics 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionARQTVRTXBIIBLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.11B $134.65B $36.25B VRTX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 144.0x 30.6x 43.4x VRTX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 63.4x 28.6x 19.7x BIIB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +76.1% +10.2% +0.3% ARQT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.1% 35.0% 8.3% VRTX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.6% — 3.3% ARQT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — 3.2x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +61.3% +24.0% +68.0% BIIB
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +7.9%/yr +23.4%/yr -0.9%/yr VRTX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 56.7% 29.0% 34.0% VRTX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 76/100 76/100 63/100 VRTX

Percentile Scorecard

ARQTVRTXBIIB

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

AxisARQTVRTXBIIB
Valuation 70 #187 of 625 81 #121 of 625 92 #52 of 625
Growth 96 #28 of 602 60 #241 of 602 35 #392 of 602
Profitability 89 #61 of 551 95 #30 of 551 89 #64 of 551
Financial Health 47 #348 of 656 53 #307 of 656 35 #425 of 656
Shareholder Returns 77 #85 of 365 93 #28 of 365 –
Overall 76 76 63
  • ARQT ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • VRTX ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • BIIB 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

PeriodARQTVRTXBIIBSPY
1 month +17.7%-1.0%+11.0% -0.2%
3 months +11.5%+6.2%+22.9% +3.9%
6 months +36.0%+21.1%+37.8% +8.2%
Year to date +9.1%+14.9%+43.6% +12.9%
1 year +61.3%+24.0%+68.0% +12.3%
3 years +1,256.7%+46.7%+7.8% +87.4%
3 years, per year +138.6%+13.6%+2.5% +23.3%
5 years +46.4%+186.3%-4.6% +67.9%
5 years, per year +7.9%+23.4%-0.9% +10.9%
10 years —+587.0%-13.1% +261.1%
10 years, per year —+21.3%-1.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureARQTVRTXBIIBSPY
Volatility, 1Y 56.7%29.0%34.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 49.3%25.8%32.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.080.490.26 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.080.832.00 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -93.2%-29.1%-64.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.5%-6.6%-0.4% -1.2%
52-week high $32.82$557.96$253.84 $779.14
52-week low $19.50$409.47$147.86 $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.

MultipleARQTVRTXBIIB
P/E now vs peer median 145.0xmedian 17.2x 30.0xmedian 17.2x 44.7xmedian 17.2x
P/S now vs peer median 8.6xmedian 9.0x 10.5xmedian 9.0x 3.7xmedian 9.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 16.3x 24.8xmedian 16.3x 23.4xmedian 16.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 101.6xmedian 18.7x 34.8xmedian 18.7x 13.8xmedian 18.7x
P/B now vs peer median 18.0xmedian 2.2x 6.5xmedian 2.2x 2.0xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 5.41median 0.33 2.96median 0.33 -1.37median 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 monthsARQTVRTXBIIB
Revenue $463.98M $12.59B $10.03B
Gross profit $422.89M $10.82B $7.42B
Operating income $34.25M $4.78B $1.01B
Net income $28.52M $4.41B $834.60M
Free cash flow $39.15M $3.80B $2.70B
R&D $91.04M $3.91B $2.01B
EPS (diluted) $0.21 $17.26 $5.61
Cash & equivalents – $6.14B $1.29B
Total debt $108.90M – $7.29B
Shares (diluted) 135.90M 255.20M 148.70M
Enterprise value $3.39B $106.65B $22.91B

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
MetricARQTVRTXBIIB
P/E 145.0x 30.0x 44.7x
P/FCF 101.6x 34.8x 13.8x
P/Operating cash flow 101.2x 30.7x 13.0x
P/S 8.6x 10.5x 3.7x
P/B 18.0x 6.5x 2.0x
P/Tangible book 19.2x 6.7x 7.0x
EV/EBITDA – 24.8x 23.4x
EV/EBIT 113.4x 26.0x 42.9x
EV/Revenue 8.4x 9.9x 4.3x
EV/FCF 99.2x 32.7x 16.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 98.8x 28.9x 15.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 5.41 2.96 -1.37

Growth

14 metrics
MetricARQTVRTXBIIB
Revenue growth (1Y) 76.1% 10.2% 0.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 241.4% 9.8% 0.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 80.2% 10.1% -1.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 256.4% 9.0% -1.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 139.9% 21.8% -43.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 28.2% 6.4% -31.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 130.6% 21.1% -45.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 27.8% 9.4% -32.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 128.6% 22.9% -46.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 26.8% 10.1% -32.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 160.0% 11.6% 36.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.8% 1.8% 26.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 159.0% 8.5% 36.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.8% -0.7% 33.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricARQTVRTXBIIB
Gross margin 91.1% 86.0% 74.0%
EBITDA margin – 39.7% 18.5%
Operating margin 7.4% 38.0% 10.1%
Pretax margin 6.3% 41.9% 10.1%
Net margin 6.1% 35.0% 8.3%
FCF margin 8.4% 30.2% 26.9%
Operating cash flow margin 8.5% 34.1% 28.7%
Return on equity 13.9% 22.2% 4.5%
Return on assets 6.0% 16.3% 2.7%
Return on invested capital 10.6% – 3.3%
Return on capital employed 10.9% 20.8% 3.8%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.5x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.0x 3.4x
Stock comp / revenue 9.4% 5.5% 3.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricARQTVRTXBIIB
Debt / assets 22.3% – 22.7%
Debt / equity 0.5x – 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA – – 3.2x
Debt / FCF 2.8x – 2.7x
Liabilities / assets 54.8% 26.2% 41.3%
Equity / assets 45.2% 73.8% 58.7%
Interest coverage 2.5x – –
Current ratio 2.9x 3.2x 1.9x
Quick ratio 2.2x 2.5x 1.1x
Cash ratio 1.3x 2.0x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 7.59 13.25 3.15

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricARQTVRTXBIIB
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.

ConsensusARQTVRTXBIIB
Forward P/E 63.4xFY2026 28.6xFY2026 19.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.50FY2026 $18.24FY2026 $12.81FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – -0.9%FY2026 -16.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +152.0% +23.0% +36.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $565.04MFY2026 $12.67BFY2026 $9.96BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +50.2%FY2026 +5.8%FY2026 +0.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +17.0% +18.8% +11.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersARQTVRTXBIIB
Held by institutions 100.0% 95.1% 96.4%
Institutions holding 271 1,745 1,036
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.4% +3.9% +6.0%
Institutions buying 138 902 548
Institutions selling 98 605 294
Buyers to sellers 1.41 1.49 1.86

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.

ARQTVRTXBIIB
ARQT 1.00 0.21 0.21
VRTX 0.21 1.00 0.48
BIIB 0.21 0.48 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ARQT, VRTX and BIIB?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) $4.11B, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) $134.65B, Biogen (BIIB) $36.25B.

Which stock is cheaper, ARQT, VRTX and BIIB?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) 144.0x, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 30.6x, Biogen (BIIB) 43.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Biogen (BIIB) is cheapest (Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) 63.4x, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 28.6x, Biogen (BIIB) 19.7x). 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%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +10.2%, Biogen (BIIB) +0.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) has the highest net margin (Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) 6.1%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 35.0%, Biogen (BIIB) 8.3%). On return on invested capital, Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) leads (Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) 10.6%, Biogen (BIIB) 3.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Biogen (BIIB) returned the most: Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) +61.3%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +24.0%, Biogen (BIIB) +68.0%. Over five years, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) compounded fastest (Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) +7.9%/yr, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +23.4%/yr, Biogen (BIIB) -0.9%/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%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 29.0%, Biogen (BIIB) 34.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ARQT, VRTX and BIIB?

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 6. 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.