Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX)

TotalReturn:

'Total return, when measuring performance, is the actual rate of return of an investment or a pool of investments over a given evaluation period. Total return includes interest, capital gains, dividends and distributions realized over a given period of time. Total return accounts for two categories of return: income including interest paid by fixed-income investments, distributions or dividends and capital appreciation, representing the change in the market price of an asset.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (80.1%) in the period of the last 5 years, the total return, or increase in value of 94.6% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals is higher, thus better.
• During the last 3 years, the total return, or increase in value is 53.1%, which is larger, thus better than the value of 30.8% from the benchmark.

CAGR:

'The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a useful measure of growth over multiple time periods. It can be thought of as the growth rate that gets you from the initial investment value to the ending investment value if you assume that the investment has been compounding over the time period.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (12.5%) in the period of the last 5 years, the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.3% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals is larger, thus better.
• Looking at annual performance (CAGR) in of 15.3% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively greater, thus better in comparison to SPY (9.4%).

Volatility:

'In finance, volatility (symbol σ) is the degree of variation of a trading price series over time as measured by the standard deviation of logarithmic returns. Historic volatility measures a time series of past market prices. Implied volatility looks forward in time, being derived from the market price of a market-traded derivative (in particular, an option). Commonly, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (21.3%) in the period of the last 5 years, the 30 days standard deviation of 31.9% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals is higher, thus worse.
• Looking at 30 days standard deviation in of 26.7% in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (17.6%).

DownVol:

'Risk measures typically quantify the downside risk, whereas the standard deviation (an example of a deviation risk measure) measures both the upside and downside risk. Specifically, downside risk in our definition is the semi-deviation, that is the standard deviation of all negative returns.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (15.3%) in the period of the last 5 years, the downside volatility of 22.8% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals is higher, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the downside volatility is 18.8%, which is higher, thus worse than the value of 12.3% from the benchmark.

Sharpe:

'The Sharpe ratio (also known as the Sharpe index, the Sharpe measure, and the reward-to-variability ratio) is a way to examine the performance of an investment by adjusting for its risk. The ratio measures the excess return (or risk premium) per unit of deviation in an investment asset or a trading strategy, typically referred to as risk, named after William F. Sharpe.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.47) in the period of the last 5 years, the ratio of return and volatility (Sharpe) of 0.37 of Vertex Pharmaceuticals is lower, thus worse.
• During the last 3 years, the risk / return profile (Sharpe) is 0.48, which is higher, thus better than the value of 0.39 from the benchmark.

Sortino:

'The Sortino ratio, a variation of the Sharpe ratio only factors in the downside, or negative volatility, rather than the total volatility used in calculating the Sharpe ratio. The theory behind the Sortino variation is that upside volatility is a plus for the investment, and it, therefore, should not be included in the risk calculation. Therefore, the Sortino ratio takes upside volatility out of the equation and uses only the downside standard deviation in its calculation instead of the total standard deviation that is used in calculating the Sharpe ratio.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (0.66) in the period of the last 5 years, the excess return divided by the downside deviation of 0.52 of Vertex Pharmaceuticals is smaller, thus worse.
• Looking at downside risk / excess return profile in of 0.68 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively larger, thus better in comparison to SPY (0.56).

Ulcer:

'The ulcer index is a stock market risk measure or technical analysis indicator devised by Peter Martin in 1987, and published by him and Byron McCann in their 1989 book The Investors Guide to Fidelity Funds. It's designed as a measure of volatility, but only volatility in the downward direction, i.e. the amount of drawdown or retracement occurring over a period. Other volatility measures like standard deviation treat up and down movement equally, but a trader doesn't mind upward movement, it's the downside that causes stress and stomach ulcers that the index's name suggests.'

• Compared with the benchmark SPY (9.43 ) in the period of the last 5 years, the Ulcer Ratio of 18 of Vertex Pharmaceuticals is larger, thus worse.
• Looking at Downside risk index in of 11 in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to SPY (10 ).

MaxDD:

'Maximum drawdown measures the loss in any losing period during a fund’s investment record. It is defined as the percent retrenchment from a fund’s peak value to the fund’s valley value. The drawdown is in effect from the time the fund’s retrenchment begins until a new fund high is reached. The maximum drawdown encompasses both the period from the fund’s peak to the fund’s valley (length), and the time from the fund’s valley to a new fund high (recovery). It measures the largest percentage drawdown that has occurred in any fund’s data record.'

• The maximum drop from peak to valley over 5 years of Vertex Pharmaceuticals is -41.6 days, which is smaller, thus worse compared to the benchmark SPY (-33.7 days) in the same period.
• Looking at maximum DrawDown in of -26.6 days in the period of the last 3 years, we see it is relatively lower, thus worse in comparison to SPY (-24.5 days).

MaxDuration:

'The Drawdown Duration is the length of any peak to peak period, or the time between new equity highs. The Max Drawdown Duration is the worst (the maximum/longest) amount of time an investment has seen between peaks (equity highs). Many assume Max DD Duration is the length of time between new highs during which the Max DD (magnitude) occurred. But that isn’t always the case. The Max DD duration is the longest time between peaks, period. So it could be the time when the program also had its biggest peak to valley loss (and usually is, because the program needs a long time to recover from the largest loss), but it doesn’t have to be'

• Looking at the maximum time in days below previous high water mark of 521 days in the last 5 years of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, we see it is relatively larger, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (478 days)
• During the last 3 years, the maximum days under water is 255 days, which is lower, thus better than the value of 478 days from the benchmark.

AveDuration:

'The Average Drawdown Duration is an extension of the Maximum Drawdown. However, this metric does not explain the drawdown in dollars or percentages, rather in days, weeks, or months. The Avg Drawdown Duration is the average amount of time an investment has seen between peaks (equity highs), or in other terms the average of time under water of all drawdowns. So in contrast to the Maximum duration it does not measure only one drawdown event but calculates the average of all.'

• Looking at the average time in days below previous high water mark of 138 days in the last 5 years of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, we see it is relatively higher, thus worse in comparison to the benchmark SPY (118 days)
• Compared with SPY (173 days) in the period of the last 3 years, the average days under water of 59 days is lower, thus better.