Intercept Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ICPT) and ObsEva (NASDAQ:OBSV) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, risk and earnings.
Profitability
This table compares Intercept Pharmaceuticals and ObsEva's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| Intercept Pharmaceuticals | -106.64% | -1,973.10% | -48.51% |
| ObsEva | N/A | -256.23% | -93.21% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
85.8% of Intercept Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.7% of ObsEva shares are held by institutional investors. 23.7% of Intercept Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Intercept Pharmaceuticals and ObsEva's gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| Intercept Pharmaceuticals | $252 million | 2.53 | $-344,680,000.00 | ($10.89) | -1.78 |
| ObsEva | N/A | N/A | $-108,790,000.00 | ($2.49) | -1.35 |
ObsEva has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Intercept Pharmaceuticals. Intercept Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ObsEva, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Intercept Pharmaceuticals and ObsEva, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| Intercept Pharmaceuticals | 2 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 2.25 |
| ObsEva | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.40 |
Intercept Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus target price of $50.8696, suggesting a potential upside of 163.16%. ObsEva has a consensus target price of $11.80, suggesting a potential upside of 250.15%. Given ObsEva's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe ObsEva is more favorable than Intercept Pharmaceuticals.
Volatility and Risk
Intercept Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.85, indicating that its stock price is 85% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ObsEva has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
ObsEva beats Intercept Pharmaceuticals on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
