Five Prime Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FPRX) and Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
67.3% of Five Prime Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.1% of Viking Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 6.4% of Five Prime Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Viking Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Five Prime Therapeutics and Viking Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
---|
Five Prime Therapeutics | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2.25 |
Viking Therapeutics | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 3.10 |
Five Prime Therapeutics currently has a consensus target price of $30.7143, indicating a potential downside of 19.17%. Viking Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $16.4444, indicating a potential upside of 180.14%. Given Viking Therapeutics' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Viking Therapeutics is more favorable than Five Prime Therapeutics.
Profitability
This table compares Five Prime Therapeutics and Viking Therapeutics' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
---|
Five Prime Therapeutics | -554.71% | -75.84% | -49.08% |
Viking Therapeutics | N/A | -13.57% | -13.14% |
Volatility & Risk
Five Prime Therapeutics has a beta of 4.4, suggesting that its stock price is 340% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Viking Therapeutics has a beta of 2.02, suggesting that its stock price is 102% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Five Prime Therapeutics and Viking Therapeutics' gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
---|
Five Prime Therapeutics | $14.87 million | 119.01 | $-137,200,000.00 | ($3.92) | -9.69 |
Viking Therapeutics | N/A | N/A | $-25,780,000.00 | ($0.36) | -16.31 |
Viking Therapeutics has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Five Prime Therapeutics. Viking Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Five Prime Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Viking Therapeutics beats Five Prime Therapeutics on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.