Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) and Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALXN) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, risk and dividends.
Volatility and Risk
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.3, meaning that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alexion Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.33, meaning that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Alexion Pharmaceuticals' gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
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Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | $7.86 billion | 6.03 | $2.12 billion | $21.47 | 20.60 |
Alexion Pharmaceuticals | $4.99 billion | 6.48 | $2.40 billion | $9.74 | 15.10 |
Alexion Pharmaceuticals has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. Alexion Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Alexion Pharmaceuticals' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
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Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | 38.28% | 28.97% | 20.11% |
Alexion Pharmaceuticals | 16.32% | 23.16% | 14.76% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Alexion Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
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Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | 0 | 6 | 15 | 1 | 2.77 |
Alexion Pharmaceuticals | 0 | 17 | 7 | 1 | 2.36 |
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus price target of $625.8077, suggesting a potential upside of 40.74%. Alexion Pharmaceuticals has a consensus price target of $153.1250, suggesting a potential upside of 3.55%. Given Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Alexion Pharmaceuticals.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
85.0% of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.3% of Alexion Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.8% of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of Alexion Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals beats Alexion Pharmaceuticals on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.