Vertex Pharma Surges 1.83% on $650M Volume, Ranks 160th in Market Participation

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) surged 1.83% on October 7, 2025, with a trading volume of $650 million—marking a 35.88% increase from the previous day’s activity. The stock ranked 160th in terms of market participation, reflecting heightened investor interest amid strategic developments in its therapeutic pipeline.

Recent regulatory updates and partnership advancements have positioned Vertex as a focal point in biotech innovation. Analysts highlighted the company’s progress in gene therapy trials and its expanded collaboration with academic research institutions, which could accelerate product commercialization timelines. These developments, coupled with a robust quarterly earnings report, have reinforced investor confidence despite broader market volatility.

To run this back-test rigorously I need to pin down a few details and be sure the assumptions match what you have in mind: 1. Universe • Should I look at all U.S. common stocks (NYSE + NASDAQ), or a different universe (e.g., S&P 1500, China A-shares, etc.)? 2. When the “top 500 by daily trading volume” is determined, which price do we use for entry and exit? • Typical choices are: – Buy at today’s close, sell at tomorrow’s close (close-to-close) – Buy at tomorrow’s open, sell at tomorrow’s close (open-to-close) 3. Weighting method • Equal weight (each stock 0.2 %) • Volume-weighted / market-cap-weighted • Something else? 4. Transaction costs/slippage • Ignore them, or assume a specific cost per trade? 5. Any risk controls (e.g., stop-loss) or just a straight 1-day holding period? Once I have these parameters, I’ll pull the daily share-volume rankings from 2022-01-03 forward, create the daily 500-stock basket, and run the portfolio back-test.