SPY vs VRTX: Correlation
How closely do SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.26, which is weak.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are SPY and VRTX?
Over the past 3 years, SPY and VRTX moved with a correlation of 0.26, which is weak. The link has loosened recently: the 1-year correlation (0.13) runs below the 3-year figure (0.26). Over 5 years the correlation is 0.31, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 113.9 %².
Within SPY's tracked universe of 4755 assets, VRTX comes in at #2683 by 3-year correlation. The last year tells two different stories: VRTX led by 20.1 percentage points, +20.6% for SPY against +40.7% for VRTX. The relationship is regime-dependent: the rolling one-year correlation swung between 0.02 and 0.58 over the past three years, so this pair behaves very differently depending on the market environment. Risk is not evenly split, since VRTX carries 2.1 times the volatility of the other side.
How is this computed?
Pearson correlation on weekly returns: ρ(A,B) = cov(rA, rB) / (σA · σB), over windows of 52, 156 and 260 weeks. Covariance is annualized (×52) and expressed in %². Full definitions on the methodology page.
SPY vs VRTX: side by side
| SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust) | VRTX (Vertex Pharmaceuticals) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +20.6% | +40.7% |
| 5-year return | +82.4% | +174.5% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 14.5% | 30.3% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.00 | 0.55 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -18.8% | -29.1% |
| Market cap | – | $138.8B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | 31.9 |
| Dividend yield | 1.01% | 0.00% |
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | – |
| Assets under management | $795.3B | – |
| Sector / category | ETF · US Large Cap | Health Care |
SPY, State Street Investment Management's Large Blend fund, carries $795.3B under management, 504 holdings, a 0.09% expense ratio, a 1.01% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | SPY | VRTX |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -18.2% | +31.5% |
| 2023 | +26.2% | +40.9% |
| 2024 | +24.9% | -1.0% |
| 2025 | +17.7% | +12.6% |
| 2026 | +13.7% | +20.8% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Fund exposure
A structural note: 0.21% of SPY is VRTX itself, so the fund partly moves with the stock by construction.
Are SPY and VRTX good diversifiers for each other?
Reasonably. At 0.26, SPY and VRTX keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
FAQ
What is the correlation between SPY and VRTX?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between SPY and VRTX is 0.26 over 3 years, 0.13 over 1 year and 0.31 over 5 years.
Is VRTX a good diversifier for SPY?
Reasonably. At 0.26, SPY and VRTX keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
What does a correlation of 0.26 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.26 describes how much the two returns move together: +1 is lockstep, 0 is independence, negative values mean opposite directions. It says nothing about which performed better.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/spy-vs-vrtx.json
Markdown for the live badge, attribution link included:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/spy-vs-vrtx/)
The core API is free. Terms and every endpoint in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: SPY correlations · VRTX correlations
