Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) Hits New All-Time Low on Failed Clinical Trial

We recently published 10 Big Names Bleed Double Digits. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTX) is one of the worst-performing stocks on Tuesday.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals nosedived on Tuesday to hit a new all-time low following the termination of a clinical trial for an experimental pain medicine.

The company dropped as low as 21 percent to $373.2 before a slight uptick to close the day just down by 20.6 percent at $374.98 apiece.

In a statement, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTX) said that its clinical trial for VX-993 for the Treatment of Acute Pain “did not result in a statistically significant improvement” to the enrolled patients.

“Based on these results, Vertex will not progress VX-993 into pivotal development as monotherapy in acute pain,” it said.

The termination overshadowed the company’s impressive earnings performance in the second quarter and first half of the year.

During the quarter, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTX) swung to a net income of $1.03 billion from a $3.593 billion net loss in the same period last year. Total revenues grew by 12 percent to $2.96 billion from $2.64 billion year-on-year.

In the first half, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VRTX) swung to a net profit of $1.68 billion from a $2.49 billion net loss year-on-year, while total revenues grew by 8 percent to $5.73 billion from $5.3 billion.