Uptrend Under Pressure 100
Institutional selling is building — 7 distribution days in the last 25 sessions. Severe risk · 100/100 · 7 distribution days (SPY) Oct 26 Full briefing →
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VRTX · Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated

$517.49 -1.23% Oct 26 close
Detected setup Pocket Pivot · Setup Score 55/100

Stand aside — setup invalidated

Setup score 55, but distribution days reach 5 or more — stand aside until the condition resets.

1 independent risk warning also present. Review before relying on the bullish setup.

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$VRTX

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a large-cap Pharmaceuticals: Major company in the Health Technology sector with a market cap of $131B.

Health Technology Pharmaceuticals: Major stock Stage 2 · Advancing Base 2
$517.49 latest close
Market Structure
Trend structure: range
Latest event: structure_shift (bullish)
Support 463.00–465.51 · 5 touches · strong
Support 501.01–503.89 · 4 touches · moderate
Support 493.61–498.02 · 4 touches · moderate
Support 429.00–431.01 · 3 touches · moderate
Support 445.41–447.82 · 3 touches · moderate
Join to Watchlist $VRTX Share card
Historical record

No active setup in the latest scan — this page shows the last detection Legend AI made for $VRTX. Every level, score and criterion below is computed from the Oct 26 close session (latest session), and may no longer hold.

Historical verdict · setup score 55/100 · data Oct 26 close · latest session

Stand aside — setup invalidated

Setup score 55, but distribution days reach 5 or more — stand aside until the condition resets.

Review six verdicts Inspect chart
Recent price action · daily
$500$550AugSepOct$517

What would change this verdict

What needs to turn for this to become buyable — the top failing checks across the legend council:

  • Minervini 1.5 Price > 50-day MA — Price $517.49 vs MA50 $522.94
  • Minervini 2. Quarterly EPS growth ≥ 25% — +5.8% QoQ
  • O'Neil C: Quarterly EPS acceleration ≥ 25% — +5.8% QoQ
  • O'Neil L: RS rank ≥ 80 (IBD leadership) — RS rank 72
  • Weinstein Volume expansion above average — Volume ratio 1.06x
  • Dennis S1: 20-day Donchian breakout
Minority view — the council disagrees here
  • Minervini: avoid Trend-template read: fails Price > 50-day MA.
  • O'Neil: avoid CANSLIM read: fails C: Quarterly EPS acceleration ≥ 25%.
  • Weinstein: watch Stage-analysis read: Stage 2 is present; 1 supporting checks need improvement.
63 Neutral
Legend Score · rates the stock Neutral (63/100) — held back by eps growth

Our proprietary 0-100 rating — the answer to Wall Street's black-box scores. Five pillars, each computed from real scan data, each explained below in plain English.

  • Relative Strength (25%) 72
  • Trend Template (25%) 88
  • Institutional Footprint (20%) 58
  • EPS Growth (15%) 30
  • Quality (SMR-like) (15%) 44

RS rank 72: above-average strength. Trend template 7/8: price above rising 50/150/200-day lines — textbook uptrend structure. Institutional score 58: neutral — no clear institutional conviction. EPS up +0% — growing, but below the 25% leadership bar. Quality 44: weak fundamentals (sales growth 30, return on equity 41, leverage 100). Updated 2026-10-26.

Earnings

Pre-earnings setup

Next earnings Monday, November 2, 2026 After market close Exact clock time not supplied by source

Deterministic evidence

VRTX-1.23%
Sector proxy · XLV+0.00%
Broad market · SPY+0.71%
Same completed session window ending 2026-10-26. VRTX was -1.23 points vs XLV. -1.94 points vs SPY.
CatalystPending Stock reactionNegative Sector reactionWeak Opening surgePending Event riskEarnings-driven

Session internals Mixed

Rule: direction and internals disagree — it met neither the strong nor the weak rule. Judged on internals, not on the size of the move.

Vs prior close-1.23% From the open-1.78% Range position40% GapNo gap
QQQ confirmationDiverging (+1.11%) SMH confirmationDiverging (+2.74%)
Short-term conviction -2 points.
  • QQQ, SMH moved against the stock — no index confirmation.
  • A sourced earnings report is still pending inside the risk window; ordinary technical conviction is reduced until it is out.
Price bars, sourced event fields, and benchmark math only. This can adjust displayed short-term conviction; it does not change the stored scanner score or readiness.

Ask a Legend to interpret this evidence → Commentary only — never scanner evidence or a sizing recommendation.

Price $517.49 -1.2% Oct 26 close
52W High $560.25 7.6% below high
Wks Since High 7w
Base Depth 13.6%
RS Rank 41 percentile of scan
SMA 50 $522.94
Avg Vol 1,119,673
Rel Vol (Oct 26) 1.06× 0.95× on up days
More stats
52W Low $403.16
Tight Wks 1
Base B2
SMA 200 $477.61
RS Line vs High -6.5%
RS Line Slope +0.0% ▲
Group Rank #13/66
ADR% 2.5%
ATR(14) $14.52 (2.8%)
Vol Pace (live) N/A
A/D Days 18A / 12D
A/D Rating A+
VDU Bars 0/10 d
Earnings in 6d
Position in 52-week range 73rdpercentile of the 52-week range
$403.16low
$560.25high

VRTX Chart

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Technical Analysis Report Card

$VRTX · $517.49 · as of 2026-10-26 · multi-factor read
67
/ 100
Technicals 67/100
Reference read from price & volume only — the verdict at the top of the page decides the action.

Trend · Daily / Weekly / Monthly

Daily ▬ Sideways / consolidating
Weekly ▬ Sideways / consolidating
Monthly ▬ Sideways / consolidating

Moving Averages

50-day$522.94 ↓
100-day$502.19 ↑
200-day$477.61 ↑
Bullish (50 > 200)

RSI (14)

Reading51.7 · Neutral

Neutral — momentum is balanced between buyers and sellers.

MACD (12/26/9)

StateBullish
Histogram+2.879

Bullish — MACD above its signal line and above zero. Histogram contracting.

Bollinger Bands (20,2)

%B / Width65% · 9.3%

Mid-band — no directional band edge in play.

Volume · Buyer vs Seller

Up/Down vol0.95 · Neutral
Rel volume1.06×
Pocket pivots · 10d2
5d vs 50d vol112%
Heavy vol up / down2 / 0

Balanced — up/down volume is roughly even; no clear hand. Recent volume is expanding versus its baseline.

  • Pocket pivot 2 sessions ago — up-day volume beat every down day of the prior 10 sessions.
  • 2 heavy-volume up days vs 0 down in the last 20 sessions.

Support & Resistance

R · $531.78swing level
R · $546.17swing level
R · $557.9752-week high
Price · $517.49now
S · $498.58swing level
S · $484.08swing level
S · $467.43swing level

Fibonacci · Uptrend swing

23.6%$527.15
38.2%$506.68
50.0%$490.13
61.8%$473.58
78.6%$450.02

Retracement support zones measured from the recent swing low up to the high.

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Above 200-day MA50/200 bullish
Want this read in a legend's voice? Ask a Legend about VRTX
Generic technical analysis generated mechanically from price & volume — educational research only, not financial advice or a personalized recommendation. Levels are illustrative; confirm on your own chart. New to these terms? →
Legend Verdicts 6 methodology checks

Who would consider this setup, why it qualifies, and what blocks it — calculated from the same deterministic methodology rules used across Legend AI.
How to read the numbers: the setup score (55/100, in the verdict band) rates this trade setup. Each legend's A–D grade rates the same setup against that legend's own checklist — so a high score next to a C grade is not a contradiction. The setup can be strong without fitting that legend's style. When the council disagrees, the verdict band breaks the tie.

Council consensus: 6 of 9 legends are Watching — building, not yet a confirmed buy.
Minervini Avoid C Trend-template read: fails Price > 50-day MA.

partialRule check says AVOID (9/13 checks passed) — Trend-template read: fails Price > 50-day MA.

Passing evidence
1.1 Price > 150-day MA AND 200-day MAPrice $517.49, MA150 $480.54, MA200 $477.61
1.2 150-day MA > 200-day MAMA150 $480.54 vs MA200 $477.61
Failing evidence
1.5 Price > 50-day MAPrice $517.49 vs MA50 $522.94
2. Quarterly EPS growth ≥ 25%+5.8% QoQ
9/13 checks
Method → Playbook → Ask →
O'Neil Avoid D CANSLIM read: fails C: Quarterly EPS acceleration ≥ 25%.

partialRule check says AVOID (3/8 checks passed) — CANSLIM read: fails C: Quarterly EPS acceleration ≥ 25%.

Passing evidence
A: Annual earnings & revenue qualityRev +8.9% | ROE 23.3%
N: Near 52-week high or RS line new high7.6% below high | RS line new high: False
Failing evidence
C: Quarterly EPS acceleration ≥ 25%+5.8% QoQ
L: RS rank ≥ 80 (IBD leadership)RS rank 72
3/8 checks
Method → Playbook → Ask →
Weinstein Watch B Stage-analysis read: Stage 2 is present; 1 supporting checks need improvement.

mediumClassic Stage 2 advancing phase — strong weekly trend confirms uptrend. This is Weinstein's sweet spot: buy and hold while price remains above the 30-week MA.

Passing evidence
Stage 2 (Advancing phase) confirmedStage 2 (Advancing)
Price above 30-week MA (200-day proxy)Price $517.49 vs MA200 $477.61
Failing evidence
Volume expansion above averageVolume ratio 1.06x
6/7 checks
Method → Playbook → Ask →
dennis Watch C Turtle read: no Donchian signal. The system stays flat until price takes out the 20-day high.
Passing evidence
No breakdown below the 20-day channel20-day low $484.08
Volatility-unit sizing (1N ≈ 1% of equity)1N = $13.53 (2.61% of price); the Turtles size 1 unit so a 1N move ≈ 1% of equity, making the 2N stop ≈ 2% equity risk
Failing evidence
S1: 20-day Donchian breakoutNot confirmed
S2: 55-day Donchian breakoutNot confirmed
5/8 checks
Method → Playbook → Ask →
zanger Avoid C Zanger read: a hard gate is broken — either the pattern is not one of his six, or the entry is more than 5% past the breakout. He would not touch this.
Passing evidence
Not extended (≤5% above the breakout point)Measured as passing
Partial-profit plan: sell 20-30% at +15-20%Scale 20-30% at $595.11-$620.99; trail the rest
Failing evidence
Named Zanger pattern onlyPocket Pivot is not one of Zanger's six
Breakout volume 1.5-2.0x averageNot confirmed
4/6 checks
Method → Playbook → Ask →
zweig Watch D Zweig read: part of his screen passes but not all: EPS growth above the market (≥15% QoQ); Insider buying — wait for the full growth screen before treating this as a Zweig setup.
Passing evidence
Reasonable price for the growth (P/E ≤ 35)Trailing P/E 33.8x — no PEG or forward P/E stored
Price strength (RS ≥ 70)RS score 72 — Zweig buys strength, not bargains
Failing evidence
EPS growth above the market (≥15% QoQ)+5.8% QoQ — Zweig wants growth above the S&P average
Insider buyingNo insider buying flagged
4/8 checks
Method → Playbook → Ask →
Livermore Watch B Pivotal-point read: constructive evidence is present, but volume vs average is unresolved.
Passing evidence
Price$517.49
Relative strengthRS 72
Failing evidence
Volume vs average1.06x
Pivotal point cleared on expanding volumeNot confirmed
4/6 checks
Method → Playbook → Ask →
Darvas Watch B Box-theory read: constructive evidence is present, but volume vs average is unresolved.

mediumBuilding the top of the box (6.5% from 52W high) — watch for a box breakout with volume expansion.

Passing evidence
Price$517.49
Relative strengthRS 72
Failing evidence
Volume vs average1.06x
Box top broken on heavy volumeNot confirmed
4/6 checks
Method → Playbook → Ask →
Wyckoff Watch B Supply-and-demand read: constructive evidence is present, but volume vs average is unresolved.
Passing evidence
Price$517.49
Relative strengthRS 72
Failing evidence
Volume vs average1.06x
Sign of Strength confirmed on expanding volumePrice hasn't cleared the pivot yet — confirmation pending
4/6 checks
Method → Playbook → Ask →
Base & Breakout
Breakout follow-through

No active breakout tracked — Legend AI monitors daily for pivot-point breaks. What's a breakout?

Unlock Base & Breakout Tracking
RS Line vs SPY 52-week relative strength · blue = RS line · dashed = MA50 · dot = NH ▲ Rising
110RS Line (52W)
Accumulation / Distribution last 65 sessions · green = acc on high vol · red = dist on high vol Net +5 A+
A: 17 D: 12 Net: +565 sessions
Minervini · Grade Card
Fundamentals & leadership quality — Minervini’s published criteria · 4/7 met
B 4/7 criteria
Separate score from the Minervini Trend Template (6/8): the Trend Template grades the price structure, this grades the company & leadership (earnings, sales, margins, RS rank). A stock can ride a clean trend while its fundamentals lag, so the two often differ by design — they are not the same checklist.
✗ EPS acceleration ≥25% QoQ +6%
✗ Revenue growth ≥20% YoY +9%
✓ Gross margin ≥30% 86%
✓ ROE ≥17% 23%
✗ RS rating ≥80 (leadership) 72
✓ Stage 2 uptrend (Weinstein) Stage 2
✓ Within 25% of 52W high -7.6%

Method Playbook

Trade it like Livermore EXACT LEVELS · PRO
Livermore B · Watch — The deterministic methodology check is Watch; wait for the failing or incomplete criteria to improve before the trigger can qualify.
Pivot
Pro level
Published-method rule: Treat the resistance break as a pivotal point only while the primary trend and relative strength remain aligned.
Evidence: Canonical setup geometry is available with Pro.
Entry trigger
Pro level
Published-method rule: Wait for price and volume to confirm the pivotal-point break; anticipation below the line is not confirmation.
Evidence: Canonical setup geometry is available with Pro.
Initial stop
Pro level
Published-method rule: Place the initial stop below the pivotal line or the reaction low that would prove the breakout false.
Evidence: Canonical setup geometry is available with Pro.
Trail
Rule-based
Published-method rule: Raise protection beneath successive higher reaction lows as the trend advances; never move a protective line farther away.
Evidence: Planned management rule; no stored stop or broker order is changed automatically.
Exit / invalidation
Pro level
Published-method rule: Exit when price fails the pivotal line, breaks the latest meaningful reaction low, or shows abnormal reversal action.
Evidence: Canonical setup geometry is available with Pro.
Deterministic educational plan, not a recommendation. No order or stop is changed automatically. Method and sources →

Pattern Analysis (historical)

Pocket Pivot ⚠ Not actionable yet
55 setup score
RS Score 72
Trend template 6/8
CANSLIM 71.1* (B)
volume ratio: 1.1 near moving avg: ✓ upper close: ✓ shooting star: ✗ price past buy range: ✗ vol beats down: ✓ bars since signal: 1 signal close: 535.17 validation reason: valid pocket-pivot multi tf evaluated: ✓ multi tf reason: weekly trend template 7/8 confirmed + no fresh 13-week low
Why This Setup?
Pocket Pivot · schematic

Up vol 1,641,608 vs max down vol 1,492,371 (near MA), upper_close=yes, bars_ago=1 | Strong trend (7/8) | Good RS (72) | High-confidence pattern (75%) | Stage 2 | Readiness 56/100 (early) | CANSLIM 71.1 (B) | ⚠ Not actionable yet

Ask a Legend ▾
Cup & Handle ⚠ Volatility widening into breakout ⚠ Not actionable yet
55 setup score
RS Score 72
Trend template 6/8
CANSLIM 68.9* (B)
17.2% cup depth 7.5% handle rims outside 10% ideal
  • Cup 17.2% deep from a $497.84 left rim to a $412.27 low
  • Rims 12.5% apart (accepted, but outside the 10% ideal)
  • Handle pulled back 7.5% over 8 bars from $523.52 to $484.08
  • Handle sits in the upper half of the cup
  • Rounded U-shaped bottom
  • Pivot $560.25 fixed at the handle high
  • No close above the pivot yet
  • Volume dried up in the handle
Raw detector evidence · confidence is a heuristic match score, not a probability depth=17.2%, handle_pb=7.5%, lips_diff=12.5%, upper_half=yes, u_shape=yes, near_pivot=no, orderly=yes | Strong trend (7/8) | Good RS (72) | High-confidence pattern (72%) | Stage 2 | Readiness 45/100 (early) | CANSLIM 68.9 (B) | ⚠ Volatility widening into breakout; Not actionable yet setup_key=cup_handle|2026-05-05|2026-09-03|560.25 · cup_handle/2026-10-03 anchors={"bottom": {"bar": 90, "bars_ago": 119, "date": "2026-05-05", "price": 412.27}, "breakout": null, "handle_high": {"bar": 193, "bars_ago": 16, "date": "2026-10-01", "price": 523.52}, "handle_low": {"bar": 201, "bars_ago": 8, "date": "2026-10-13", "price": 484.08}, "left_lip": {"bar": 44, "bars_ago": 165, "date": "2026-02-27", "price": 497.844}, "right_lip": {"bar": 174, "bars_ago": 35, "date": "2026-09-03", "price": 560.25}}
Why This Setup?
cup handle Cup & Handle · schematic

depth=17.2%, handle_pb=7.5%, lips_diff=12.5%, upper_half=yes, u_shape=yes, near_pivot=no, orderly=yes | Strong trend (7/8) | Good RS (72) | High-confidence pattern (72%) | Stage 2 | Readiness 45/100 (early) | CANSLIM 68.9 (B) | ⚠ Volatility widening into breakout; Not actionable yet

Ask a Legend ▾
The Universal Edge Check · context only

What the setup still has going for it, recorded for later. The verdict above stands — these principles do not overrule it.

3/7 universals met
  • A relative-strength leader — not met RS rank 41 — laggard
  • Clear of earnings — not met in 6 days — event risk
  • Not chasing (in range) — partly met Pivot distance unknown
  • Volume confirms — partly met 0.7× average — light
  • Asymmetric reward — met Met — levels are a Pro detail
  • In a confirmed uptrend — met Stage 2 · Trend template 6/8
  • Risk is defined — met Met — levels are a Pro detail
Why these seven? → The Universal Edge

Minervini Trend Template

6/8

Grades the price structure — moving-average stacking, distance from the 52-week high/low, and relative strength above the ≥70 uptrend bar. This is the technical trend check; the company's fundamentals and ≥80 RS leadership are scored separately in the Grade Card.

Price above SMA 150 & 200 $517.49 vs SMA150 $480.54 / SMA200 $477.61
SMA 150 above SMA 200 SMA150 $480.54 vs SMA200 $477.61
SMA 200 trending up Slope +5.30 over 20 days
SMA 50 above SMA 150 & 200 SMA50 $522.94
Price above SMA 50 $517.49 vs SMA50 $522.94
30%+ above 52-week low +28.4% from $403.16
Within 25% of 52-week high -7.6% from $560.25
RS score above 70 RS 72

Fundamentals

52W Range
73%
Mkt Cap SEC
131.2B
EPS QoQ
+6%
Rev YoY
+9%
ROE
23%
Gross Margin
86%
D/E
0.01
EPS TTM
$15.32
P/E TTM
33.8x
Float
253M
Insider
No Buy

Company

Company profile
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
VRTX · NASDAQ · Health Technology · Pharmaceuticals: Major
Track all markets on TradingView
O'Neil · Grade Card
CANSLIM — current EPS, annual EPS, new highs, supply, leader RS, inst. sponsorship, market
B 71.1* CANSLIM * disqualified on C, M
C · Curr. EPS
64
A · Annual EPS
77
N · New Highs
100
S · Supply/Demand
80
L · Leader RS
72
I · Inst. Spons.
100
M · Market
30

Weekly Context

Multi-timeframe signals from weekly bars
W. Trend
7/8
W. RS
72
W. Support
$412.27
W. Resist
$560.25
Weekly Structure

Scan History

Oct 22: 85 (Darvas Box)Oct 22: 86 (Darvas Box)Oct 23: 82 (Darvas Box)Oct 23: 87 (Pocket Pivot)Oct 23: 89 (Pocket Pivot)Oct 26: 55 (Pocket Pivot)55
Oct 26
Pocket Pivot ✓ Gate
55
Oct 23
Pocket Pivot ✓ Gate
89 -1.2%
Oct 23
Pocket Pivot ✓ Gate
87 -1.2%
Oct 23
Darvas Box ✓ Gate
82 -1.2%
Oct 22
Darvas Box ✓ Gate
86 -3.3%
Oct 22
Darvas Box ✓ Gate
85 -3.3%

Latest News

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