Reviewing Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) & C4 Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CCCC)

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) and C4 Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CCCC) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability and risk.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Vertex Pharmaceuticals and C4 Therapeutics”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vertex Pharmaceuticals	$12.00 billion	11.41	$3.95 billion	$15.54	34.76
C4 Therapeutics	$35.95 million	10.10	-$104.99 million	($0.72)	-3.84

Vertex Pharmaceuticals has higher revenue and earnings than C4 Therapeutics. C4 Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vertex Pharmaceuticals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Vertex Pharmaceuticals and C4 Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vertex Pharmaceuticals	0	2	25	1	2.96
C4 Therapeutics	1	1	5	0	2.57

Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus price target of $596.44, indicating a potential upside of 10.43%. C4 Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $8.50, indicating a potential upside of 207.41%. Given C4 Therapeutics’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe C4 Therapeutics is more favorable than Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

Risk & Volatility

Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.28, suggesting that its stock price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, C4 Therapeutics has a beta of 3.16, suggesting that its stock price is 216% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

91.0% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.8% of C4 Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.6% of C4 Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Vertex Pharmaceuticals and C4 Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vertex Pharmaceuticals	30.70%	21.98%	15.50%
C4 Therapeutics	-282.22%	-37.71%	-26.42%

Summary

Vertex Pharmaceuticals beats C4 Therapeutics on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1989, it develops medicines for serious diseases, with a long-standing focus on cystic fibrosis (CF). Vertex’s CF treatments include medicines that target the underlying protein defect, such as Trikafta/Kaftrio, Alyftrek, Kalydeco, Orkambi and Symdeko/Symkevi. The company also markets Journavx, a non-opioid medicine for acute pain, and partnered with CRISPR Therapeutics to develop Casgevy, a gene-editing treatment for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia.

About C4 Therapeutics

C4 Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in Watertown, Massachusetts. Founded in 2015, it develops medicines designed to selectively remove disease-causing proteins, with a focus on cancer. The company uses its TORPEDO platform to design targeted protein degraders. These molecules are intended to bind a target protein and recruit the cell’s natural protein-disposal machinery, leading to the protein’s breakdown. C4 Therapeutics’ research and development programs include oral small-molecule candidates for oncology.