Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, valuation and dividends.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Ligand Pharmaceuticals and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
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Ligand Pharmaceuticals | $120.28 million | 21.19 | $629.30 million | $2.11 | 72.72 |
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | $7.86 billion | 6.47 | $2.12 billion | $21.47 | 22.13 |
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has higher revenue and earnings than Ligand Pharmaceuticals. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ligand Pharmaceuticals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility and Risk
Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.46, indicating that its stock price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.3, indicating that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Ligand Pharmaceuticals and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
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Ligand Pharmaceuticals | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2.83 |
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | 0 | 5 | 14 | 1 | 2.80 |
Ligand Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus price target of $215.60, indicating a potential upside of 40.51%. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has a consensus price target of $637.2083, indicating a potential upside of 34.10%. Given Ligand Pharmaceuticals' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ligand Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
Profitability
This table compares Ligand Pharmaceuticals and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
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Ligand Pharmaceuticals | -11.23% | 5.90% | 3.22% |
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | 38.28% | 28.97% | 20.11% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
85.0% of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.6% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.8% of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals beats Ligand Pharmaceuticals on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.