EPS & Earnings ... Hits & Misses

[madrose1]

Shares of Vertex Pharma do not look as attractive as some competitors-Barron's
Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) could be worth closer to $30 than $50, Barron's argues, even if the company is first to market an effective Hepatitis C drug. Over the past 18 months, shares of Vertex have risen from $10 to $45, a much richer valuation than competitors testing Hepatitis C antivirals, like Idex Pharmaceuticals (IDIX), InterMune (ITMN), Achillion Pharmaceuticals (ACHN), ViroPharman (VPHM), XTL Biopharmaceuticals (XTLB), Roche Holding (RHHBY), Wyeth (WYE) and Schering-Plough (SGP). Some of the more bullish analysts at Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank believe shares of Vertex are worth $50-$60 a share as the company's Hepatitis C drug, VX-950 could get $25,000 per treatment; but analysts at Susquehanna Financial Group and Wachovia Capital Markets believe shares could drop to around $33 if the company ends up sharing the HCV market with other competiting drug