Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) and ZIOPHARM Oncology (NASDAQ:ZIOP) are both medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Vertex Pharmaceuticals and ZIOPHARM Oncology's top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals | $4.16 billion | 13.45 | $1.18 billion | $4.29 | 50.43 |
| ZIOPHARM Oncology | $150,000.00 | 4,497.29 | $-117,800,000.00 | ($0.34) | -9.21 |
Vertex Pharmaceuticals has higher revenue and earnings than ZIOPHARM Oncology. ZIOPHARM Oncology is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vertex Pharmaceuticals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Vertex Pharmaceuticals and ZIOPHARM Oncology's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals | 38.51% | 28.55% | 20.68% |
| ZIOPHARM Oncology | N/A | -48.49% | -43.53% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
92.2% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.0% of ZIOPHARM Oncology shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.3% of ZIOPHARM Oncology 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 breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Vertex Pharmaceuticals and ZIOPHARM Oncology, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals | 0 | 4 | 15 | 1 | 2.85 |
| ZIOPHARM Oncology | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2.40 |
Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus target price of $292.00, indicating a potential upside of 34.97%. ZIOPHARM Oncology has a consensus target price of $5.6250, indicating a potential upside of 79.71%. Given ZIOPHARM Oncology's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe ZIOPHARM Oncology is more favorable than Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
Volatility & Risk
Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ZIOPHARM Oncology has a beta of 2.28, indicating that its share price is 128% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Vertex Pharmaceuticals beats ZIOPHARM Oncology on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
