Head-To-Head Review: Assertio (NASDAQ:ASRT) & PolyPid (NASDAQ:PYPD)

PolyPid (NASDAQ:PYPD) and Assertio (NASDAQ:ASRT) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

PolyPid has a beta of 1.4, meaning that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Assertio has a beta of 0.28, meaning that its stock price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

26.5% of PolyPid shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.0% of Assertio shares are owned by institutional investors. 24.7% of PolyPid shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of Assertio shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares PolyPid and Assertio’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PolyPid	N/A	-1,069.37%	-151.85%
Assertio	-36.97%	-38.19%	-15.45%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for PolyPid and Assertio, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PolyPid	0	0	5	1	3.17
Assertio	0	0	2	0	3.00

PolyPid presently has a consensus price target of $11.80, indicating a potential upside of 238.11%. Assertio has a consensus price target of $2.3750, indicating a potential upside of 192.38%. Given PolyPid’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe PolyPid is more favorable than Assertio.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares PolyPid and Assertio”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PolyPid	N/A	N/A	-$29.02 million	($4.30)	-0.81
Assertio	$124.96 million	0.63	-$21.58 million	($0.45)	-1.81

Assertio has higher revenue and earnings than PolyPid. Assertio is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than PolyPid, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

PolyPid beats Assertio on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PolyPid

PolyPid Ltd., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, developing targeted, locally administered, and prolonged-release therapeutics using its proprietary polymer-lipid encapsulation matrix (PLEX) technology to address unmet medical needs. Its lead product candidate is D-PLEX100, which is in a pivotal Phase 3 confirmatory trial for prevention of surgical site infections (SSIs) in patients undergoing abdominal colorectal surgery with large incisions. It is also developing OncoPLEX, for the treatment of intra-tumoral cancer. PolyPid Ltd. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Petah Tikva, Israel.

About Assertio

Assertio Holdings, Inc., a commercial pharmaceutical company, provides various products to patients in the United States. Its pharmaceutical products include INDOCIN, an oral and suppository solution for the treatment of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, including acute flares of chronic disease; ankylosing spondylitis and osteoarthritis; and acute painful shoulder and gouty arthritis. It also provides Sympazan, a benzodiazepine for the adjunctive treatment of seizures related with lennox-gastaut syndrome in patients aged two years of age or older; CAMBIA, a non steroidal anti inflammatory drug (NSAID) for the treatment of migraine pain, nausea, photophobia, and phonophobia; Zipsor, a NSAID for relief of mild to moderate pain in adults; SPRIX, a NSAID for the short term management of moderate to moderately severe pain that requires analgesia at the opioid level; Otrexup, a single-dose auto-injector containing a prescription medicine and methotrexate that is used to treat patients with severe, active rheumatoid arthritis, and active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, as well as treat adult with severe, recalcitrant, and disabling psoriasis; and ROLVEDON, a long-acting granulocyte colony-stimulating factor that is indicated to decrease the incidence of infection caused by febrile neutropenia. The company was formerly known as Assertio Therapeutics, Inc. and changed its name to Assertio Holdings, Inc. in May 2020. Assertio Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 2020 and is headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois.