Is This Biotech Stock Too Cheap to Ignore After Its Latest Pullback? Prosper Junior Bakiny, The Motley Fool Fri, September 18, 2026 at 10:20 AM PDT 4 min read VRTX ^GSPC Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX) has performed well in 2026. Its shares are up 13% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 is up 10%. However, after reaching $560.25 per share earlier this year, the company has dropped 8% from that 52-week high. Should investors take advantage of this opportunity to buy the stock on the dip? Multiple catalysts on the horizon Vertex Pharmaceuticals' second-quarter results were strong. The company's revenue increased by 12% year over year to $3.33 billion, while its earnings per share climbed 8% year over year to $4.31. Vertex increased its full-year revenue guidance to $13.1 billion to $13.2 billion, up from its previous range of $12.95 billion to $13.1 billion. There are several things investors should pay attention to over the next year. Here are three of them. Missed AI's "Act 1"? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn't buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our analysts, we're only at the end of "Act 1" the R&D phase. "Act 2" is the global rollout. Continue Image source: The Motley Fool. First, Vertex recently earned a label expansion for Casgevy, a gene-editing medicine for certain patients with sickle cell disease or transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia, two blood-related disorders. The therapy is now approved for patients as young as two, which makes an additional 5,500 patients in the U.S. eligible. At a price of $2.2 million per treatment course, that's a fairly large opportunity. Provided demand for Casgevy increases over the next 12 months, we could see Casgevy finally start contributing meaningfully to Vertex Pharmaceuticals' financial results. Second, Vertex Pharmaceuticals is awaiting approval for povetacicept, an investigational medicine for IgA nephropathy, a kidney disease. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration could grant Vertex marketing authorization for this therapy by the end of November. Povetacicept is another important piece of Vertex's plan to diversify away from its CF business, and some analysts expect the medicine to generate $1.3 billion in sales by 2030 and eventually peak at $4.3 billion as it earns label expansions in other indications. Obtaining approval for IgA nephropathy would be an important first step toward that goal. Third, Vertex Pharmaceuticals is developing inaxaplin for APOL1-mediated kidney disease. This treatment is currently in Phase 2 studies, and progress with that project will also be important to monitor over the next year. A rock-solid business Vertex's attempts to expand and diversify its lineup aside, the company's CF business remains strong. The biotech still has virtually no competition in this market, and recently Sionna Therapeutics (NASDAQ: SION), a company developing CF medicines, announced a clinical trial failure for one of its leading candidates. Story Continues This once again highlights how challenging it is to develop CF drugs and suggests that Vertex could maintain its virtual monopoly for a little while...
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