ESSA Pharma (NASDAQ:EPIX) and Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AGIO) are both medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.
Risk and Volatility
ESSA Pharma has a beta of 1.96, meaning that its share price is 96% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Agios Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.8, meaning that its share price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
63.4% of ESSA Pharma shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.9% of Agios Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.2% of Agios Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares ESSA Pharma and Agios Pharmaceuticals' revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
---|
ESSA Pharma | N/A | N/A | $-23,440,000.00 | ($1.04) | -25.78 |
Agios Pharmaceuticals | $117.91 million | 27.94 | $-411,470,000.00 | ($6.86) | -6.90 |
ESSA Pharma has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Agios Pharmaceuticals. ESSA Pharma is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Agios Pharmaceuticals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for ESSA Pharma and Agios Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
---|
ESSA Pharma | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3.00 |
Agios Pharmaceuticals | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 2.73 |
ESSA Pharma presently has a consensus price target of $28.80, suggesting a potential upside of 6.82%. Agios Pharmaceuticals has a consensus price target of $64.6364, suggesting a potential upside of 37.12%. Given Agios Pharmaceuticals' higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Agios Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than ESSA Pharma.
Profitability
This table compares ESSA Pharma and Agios Pharmaceuticals' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
---|
ESSA Pharma | N/A | -46.31% | -45.08% |
Agios Pharmaceuticals | -170.65% | -57.63% | -37.15% |
Summary
Agios Pharmaceuticals beats ESSA Pharma on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.