MRNA vs VRTX vs GILD Stock Comparison

Moderna, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Gilead Sciences Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MRNA Moderna, Inc.
$222.76 +9.5% 1M +801.9% 1Y
Market cap
$88.88B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$2.23B
Div. yield
–
Biotechnology Healthcare
1 win
GILD Gilead Sciences, Inc.
$165.61 +9.5% 1M +39.8% 1Y
Market cap
$205.52B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$30.99B
Div. yield
1.96%
Biotechnology Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

7 decided of 12

Vertex Pharmaceuticals leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Vertex Pharmaceuticals 4, Gilead Sciences 2, Moderna 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMRNAVRTXGILDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $88.88B $136.81B $205.52B GILD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -28.1x 31.1x -58.0x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 29.6x — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -27.6% +10.2% +6.5% VRTX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -141.4% 35.0% — VRTX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -43.3% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.5x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — 1.96% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +801.9% +29.4% +39.8% MRNA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -8.4%/yr +23.9%/yr +20.6%/yr VRTX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 130.6% 29.1% 27.1% GILD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 76/100 71/100 VRTX

Percentile Scorecard

MRNAVRTXGILD

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

AxisMRNAVRTXGILD
Valuation 70 #191 of 624 80 #124 of 624 86 #87 of 624
Growth 19 #485 of 601 59 #245 of 601 43 #346 of 601
Profitability 58 #230 of 541 95 #29 of 541 90 #57 of 541
Financial Health 54 #296 of 647 54 #300 of 647 –
Shareholder Returns 86 #52 of 359 92 #29 of 359 66 #124 of 359
Overall 57 76 71
  • MRNA ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • VRTX ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • GILD ranked among 671 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMRNAVRTXGILDSPY
1 month +9.5%+2.5%+9.5% +0.7%
3 months +284.6%+12.1%+26.2% +3.7%
6 months +384.9%+26.4%+26.6% +7.1%
Year to date +655.4%+19.1%+34.9% +12.8%
1 year +801.9%+29.4%+39.8% +11.9%
3 years +200.7%+51.1%+112.9% +85.2%
3 years, per year +44.4%+14.8%+28.7% +22.8%
5 years -35.5%+192.0%+155.3% +67.6%
5 years, per year -8.4%+23.9%+20.6% +10.9%
10 years —+596.1%+124.2% +262.0%
10 years, per year —+21.4%+8.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMRNAVRTXGILDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 130.6%29.1%27.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 79.8%25.8%23.9% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.150.490.29 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 6.141.011.47 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -93.9%-29.1%-29.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.4%-3.2%0.0% -1.2%
52-week high $245.81$557.96$165.61 $779.14
52-week low $22.36$409.47$118.15 $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.

MultipleMRNAVRTXGILD
P/E now vs peer median -28.1xmedian 17.8x 31.1xmedian 17.8x -58.0xmedian 17.8x
P/S now vs peer median 39.9xmedian 9.1x 10.9xmedian 9.1x 6.6xmedian 9.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -27.4xmedian 15.0x 25.8xmedian 15.0x —median 15.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -71.4xmedian 21.7x 36.0xmedian 21.7x 14.5xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 13.1xmedian 2.2x 6.8xmedian 2.2x 15.9xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.43median 0.35 3.07median 0.35 —median 0.35

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 monthsMRNAVRTXGILD
Revenue $2.23B $12.59B $30.99B
Gross profit $521.00M $10.82B –
Operating income -$3.32B $4.78B -$2.36B
Net income -$3.15B $4.41B –
Free cash flow -$1.24B $3.80B –
R&D $2.88B $3.91B $6.33B
EPS (diluted) $-7.92 $17.26 –
Cash & equivalents $1.72B $6.14B –
Total debt $591.00M – –
Shares (diluted) 398.00M 255.20M 1.24B
Enterprise value $68.24B $108.81B $205.52B

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
MetricMRNAVRTXGILD
P/E -28.1x 31.1x -58.0x
P/FCF -71.4x 36.0x 14.5x
P/Operating cash flow -82.8x 31.9x 14.2x
P/S 39.9x 10.9x 6.6x
P/B 13.1x 6.8x 15.9x
P/Tangible book 13.1x 6.9x -438.2x
EV/EBITDA -27.4x 25.8x –
EV/EBIT -25.4x 27.0x –
EV/Revenue 37.9x 10.2x 6.6x
EV/FCF -67.8x 34.0x –
EV/Operating cash flow -78.6x 30.0x 14.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.43 3.07 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMRNAVRTXGILD
Revenue growth (1Y) -27.6% 10.2% 6.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -40.6% 9.8% 4.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -67.8% 10.1% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -56.0% 9.0% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -1.4% 21.8% -122.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -103.9% 6.4% -31.7%
Net income growth (1Y) -8.5% 21.1% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -66.4% 9.4% –
EPS growth (1Y) -5.8% 22.9% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) -65.1% 10.1% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 60.2% 11.6% 49.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -68.1% 1.8% 19.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 64.4% 8.5% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.2% -0.7% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMRNAVRTXGILD
Gross margin 23.4% 86.0% –
EBITDA margin -138.2% 39.7% –
Operating margin -149.0% 38.0% –
Pretax margin -138.6% 41.9% –
Net margin -141.4% 35.0% –
FCF margin -55.8% 30.2% –
Operating cash flow margin -48.2% 34.1% 46.7%
Return on equity -44.5% 22.2% -31.2%
Return on assets -28.1% 16.3% -7.7%
Return on invested capital -43.3% – –
Return on capital employed -38.2% 20.8% –
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.5x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.3x 1.0x –
Stock comp / revenue 20.7% 5.5% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMRNAVRTXGILD
Debt / assets 5.4% – –
Debt / equity 0.1x – –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.5x – –
Debt / FCF -0.5x – –
Liabilities / assets 38.3% 26.2% –
Equity / assets 61.7% 73.8% 25.2%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 2.3x 3.2x –
Quick ratio 2.0x 2.5x –
Cash ratio 2.0x 2.0x –
Altman Z-score 12.91 13.65 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMRNAVRTXGILD
Dividend yield – – 2.0%
Net buyback yield -0.1% 1.4% –
Shareholder yield -0.1% 1.4% 2.0%
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.

ConsensusMRNAVRTXGILD
Forward P/E – 29.6xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $-8.02FY2026 $18.24FY2026 $-0.39FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – -0.9%FY2026 -104.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +23.0% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.04BFY2026 $12.67BFY2026 $28.65BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.1%FY2026 +5.8%FY2026 -2.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +26.8% +18.8% +18.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMRNAVRTXGILD
Held by institutions 80.2% 95.1% 89.6%
Institutions holding 785 1,746 2,291
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.4% +3.9% +5.1%
Institutions buying 402 903 1,113
Institutions selling 239 605 851
Buyers to sellers 1.68 1.49 1.31

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.

MRNAVRTXGILD
MRNA 1.00 0.34 0.24
VRTX 0.34 1.00 0.49
GILD 0.24 0.49 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MRNA, VRTX and GILD?

Gilead Sciences (GILD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Moderna (MRNA) $88.88B, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) $136.81B, Gilead Sciences (GILD) $205.52B.

Which company is growing faster?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Moderna (MRNA) -27.6%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +10.2%, Gilead Sciences (GILD) +6.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) has the highest net margin (Moderna (MRNA) -141.4%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 35.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Moderna (MRNA) returned the most: Moderna (MRNA) +801.9%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +29.4%, Gilead Sciences (GILD) +39.8%. Over five years, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) compounded fastest (Moderna (MRNA) -8.4%/yr, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) +23.9%/yr, Gilead Sciences (GILD) +20.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Gilead Sciences (GILD) 1.96%. Moderna (MRNA) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Gilead Sciences (GILD) has been the steadiest (Moderna (MRNA) 130.6%, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 29.1%, Gilead Sciences (GILD) 27.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MRNA, VRTX and GILD?

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.