Ascendis Pharma A/S (ASND) Competitors

argenex (NASDAQ:ARGX) and Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, media sentiment, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, earnings and risk.

Do analysts rate ARGX or ASND?

argenex currently has a consensus target price of $728.06, suggesting a potential upside of 28.95%. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a consensus target price of $223.07, suggesting a potential upside of 31.29%. Given Ascendis Pharma A/S's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ascendis Pharma A/S is more favorable than argenex.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
argenex	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	19 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.10
Ascendis Pharma A/S	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Is ARGX or ASND more profitable?

argenex has a net margin of 40.20% compared to Ascendis Pharma A/S's net margin of -93.22%. argenex's return on equity of 16.15% beat Ascendis Pharma A/S's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
argenex	40.20%	16.15%	14.33%
Ascendis Pharma A/S	-93.22%	N/A	-33.29%

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, ARGX or ASND?

argenex has higher revenue and earnings than Ascendis Pharma A/S. Ascendis Pharma A/S is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than argenex, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
argenex	$2.25B	15.34	$833.04M	$16.21	34.83
Ascendis Pharma A/S	$393.54M	26.39	-$409.12M	-$6.28	-27.05

Does the media prefer ARGX or ASND?

In the previous week, argenex had 7 more articles in the media than Ascendis Pharma A/S. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for argenex and 8 mentions for Ascendis Pharma A/S. Ascendis Pharma A/S's average media sentiment score of 1.28 beat argenex's score of 1.16 indicating that Ascendis Pharma A/S is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
argenex	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ascendis Pharma A/S	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, ARGX or ASND?

argenex has a beta of 0.37, meaning that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ascendis Pharma A/S has a beta of 0.38, meaning that its stock price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals & insiders believe in ARGX or ASND?

60.3% of argenex shares are held by institutional investors. 2.4% of argenex shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 40.0% of Ascendis Pharma A/S shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

argenex beats Ascendis Pharma A/S on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.