Geron (GERN) Competitors

Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) and Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Is GERN or LGND more profitable?

Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a net margin of -73.07% compared to Geron's net margin of -119.54%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals' return on equity of -7.83% beat Geron's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Geron	-119.54%	-47.86%	-26.78%
Ligand Pharmaceuticals	-73.07%	-7.83%	-6.92%

Which has higher earnings and valuation, GERN or LGND?

Ligand Pharmaceuticals has higher revenue and earnings than Geron. Ligand Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Geron, 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
Geron	$76.99M	11.66	-$174.57M	-$0.21	-6.71
Ligand Pharmaceuticals	$167.13M	13.12	-$4.03M	-$7.12	-15.97

Does the media favor GERN or LGND?

In the previous week, Ligand Pharmaceuticals had 5 more articles in the media than Geron. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Ligand Pharmaceuticals and 2 mentions for Geron. Ligand Pharmaceuticals' average media sentiment score of 0.90 beat Geron's score of 0.85 indicating that Ligand Pharmaceuticals is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Geron	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ligand Pharmaceuticals	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer GERN or LGND?

Geron currently has a consensus target price of $5.06, suggesting a potential upside of 259.04%. Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a consensus target price of $146.14, suggesting a potential upside of 28.56%. Given Geron's higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Geron is more favorable than Ligand Pharmaceuticals.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Geron	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.78
Ligand Pharmaceuticals	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Do institutionals and insiders believe in GERN or LGND?

73.7% of Geron shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.3% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. 7.4% of Geron shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.0% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk and volatility, GERN or LGND?

Geron has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Ligand Pharmaceuticals beats Geron on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.