Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX)☆

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is a biotech known for its cystic-fibrosis therapies. It is a member of the S&P 500 and is classified in the Health Care sector — pharmaceutical, biotech, device and managed-care companies.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals trades on the NasdaqGS under the ticker symbol VRTX. As of the most recent market data, the stock was priced around $485.65, down 0.08% on the session, giving Vertex Pharmaceuticals a market capitalization of roughly $123.26B.

Over the past 52 weeks, VRTX has traded between $362.50 and $533.67. Shares are valued at a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of about 28.8, a common gauge of how richly the market prices the company's earnings.

As one of the larger companies in the Health Care sector, Vertex Pharmaceuticals is closely followed by investors and often moves with broader trends across pharmaceutical, biotech, device and managed-care companies. Traders watch VRTX for earnings reports, analyst rating changes, and headlines that can shift sentiment — each of which is summarized on this page as it breaks.

Because the S&P 500 is weighted by market value, Vertex Pharmaceuticals's size means its share-price moves can also nudge the index as a whole, making VRTX a stock that even index investors pay attention to.