Is ICU or Vertex Pharmaceuticals more undervalued?

As of Sep 1, 2026, ICU is at -33% to fair value and Vertex Pharmaceuticals at -49%. ICU is the less overvalued of the two. Model-based estimate, not financial advice.

Which has higher quality, ICU or Vertex Pharmaceuticals?

ICU has a quality score of 38/100 and Vertex Pharmaceuticals 79/100. Vertex Pharmaceuticals leads on quality.

STOCK COMPARISON

ICU vs Vertex Pharmaceuticals: Fair Value & Quality

Both stocks run through our valuation models. Here is how ICU (ICU) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) compare, as of Sep 1, 2026.

As of Sep 1, 2026, Fair Value Calculator sees ICU as the less overvalued of the two: ICU trades at $3.13 versus a fair value of $2.09 (-33%), while Vertex Pharmaceuticals trades at $545 versus $279 (-49%).

ICU

ICU · USD · Health Care

-33%

upside to fair value

overvalued

Price$3.13

Fair Value$2.09

Quality38/100

Vertex Pharmaceuticals

VRTX · USD · Health Care

-49%

upside to fair value

overvalued

Price$545

Fair Value$279

Quality79/100

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Head-to-head numbers

Green value = the better side for that row (for valuation multiples: lower = cheaper).

ICUVertex Pharmaceuticals

Valuation

—P/E (TTM)28.8×

8.85×P/S (TTM)10.06×

1.22×P/B6.59×

—EV/EBITDA23.8×

—PEG1.72×

—Dividend yield0.1%

Profitability

0%Net margin36%

—Operating margin38%

-302%Return on equity24%

-79%Return on assets12%

Growth

69%Revenue growth (YoY)8%

—Avg. growth/yr (3Y)10.6%

—Avg. growth/yr (5Y)14.2%

Balance & size

0.42×Debt / equity0.03×

$13MMarket cap$123B

mixedGrowth qualityhealthy

Vertex Pharmaceuticals leads: 3 to 4 metric wins.

Dash = not meaningfully computable, for example with negative equity.

Quality in detail

The quality score, broken down into the same factor families as on the stock page, 0 to 100 per family.

ICUof which business quality 38 · market factors 29 Vertex Pharmaceuticalsof which business quality 77 · market factors 77

ProfitabilityMargins and returns on capital today

Quality GrowthAre margins and returns improving?

CashflowEarnings quality: real cash, not paper profit

Fin. StrengthBalance sheet, leverage, solvency risk

InvestmentDisciplined investing over empire-building

Low VolatilityCalm price path (market factor)

MomentumPrice trend over the last 3–12 months (market factor)

52W MomentumDistance to the 52-week high (market factor)

Net IssuanceBuybacks instead of dilution

What the models say

How far the median fair value (base case) per model family sits from the current price, in percent. The amount in the currency of the trading venue is shown underneath.

above the price, more than 15% above close to the price, 85% to 115% of the price below the price, more than 15% below

Model family	ICUPrice $3.13	Vertex PharmaceuticalsPrice $545
DCF Models	n/a	-17%below the price$453
Earnings-Based	n/a	-5%close to the price$516
Dividend Discount	n/a	-99%below the price$7.07
Multiples	n/a	-49%below the price$278
Asset-Based	-44%below the price$1.75	-91%below the price$49.27
Growth DCF	n/a	-36%below the price$348
Economic Profit	n/a	-53%below the price$254
Growth Earnings	n/a	+27%above the price$692
Minimum	-44%below the price$1.75	-99%below the price$7.07
Maximum	-44%below the price$1.75	+27%above the price$692
Median	-44%below the price$1.75	-42%below the price$313
Geometric mean	-44%below the price$1.75	-66%below the price$185

Minimum, maximum, median and geometric mean refer to the family values in this table. Geometric because deviations are ratios: half the price and twice the price average to 100%, not 125%.

ICU: 1 of 1 models see the stock below the current price.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals: 22 of 26 models see the stock below the current price.

Scenario ranges

From our cautious bear case to the optimistic bull case. The white tick is the current price: left of fair value means room to run.

ICU

Bear $1.38Fair Value $2.09Bull $2.62

$3.13 = current price (white tick)

Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Bear $210Fair Value $279Bull $900

$545 = current price (white tick)

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Ranked within their sector

Where each stock sits within its sector peer group. Band = middle 50% of peers, tick = median, dot = this stock.

ICU · Health Care

Quality score38 · bottom 25%

Fair value upside-33% · below median

Vertex Pharmaceuticals · Health Care

Quality score79 · Top 25%

Fair value upside-49% · below median

Bottom line

Vertex Pharmaceuticals has the higher quality score (79/100).

See the full analysis →

ICU · Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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A model-based valuation snapshot from 26 models. Values change with price and fundamentals; the date shown above applies.