Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) and Provectus Biopharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:PVCT) Critical Review

Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) and Provectus Biopharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:PVCT) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Ligand Pharmaceuticals and Provectus Biopharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ligand Pharmaceuticals	-40.44%	-9.21%	-8.09%
Provectus Biopharmaceuticals	-1,374.19%	N/A	-792.87%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

91.3% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of Provectus Biopharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. 7.0% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 14.7% of Provectus Biopharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Provectus Biopharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.53, suggesting that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ligand Pharmaceuticals and Provectus Biopharmaceuticals”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ligand Pharmaceuticals	$167.13 million	19.53	-$4.03 million	($4.00)	-41.63
Provectus Biopharmaceuticals	$620,000.00	44.06	-$4.76 million	N/A	N/A

Ligand Pharmaceuticals has higher revenue and earnings than Provectus Biopharmaceuticals.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Ligand Pharmaceuticals and Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ligand Pharmaceuticals	0	0	6	0	3.00
Provectus Biopharmaceuticals	0	0	0	0	0.00

Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus target price of $176.50, indicating a potential upside of 6.00%. Given Ligand Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Ligand Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Provectus Biopharmaceuticals.

Summary

Ligand Pharmaceuticals beats Provectus Biopharmaceuticals on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children. The company also offers TZIELD, a CD3-directed antibody indicated to delay the onset of Stage 3 type 1 diabetes (T1D) in adults and children aged 8 years and older with Stage 2 T1D; Nexterone, a captisol-enabled formulation of amiodarone; Zulresso, a captisol-enabled formulation of brexanolone for the treatment of postpartum depression; and Veklury, an antiviral treatment for moderate or severe COVID-19. In addition, it provides Noxafil-IV, a captisol-enabled formulation of posaconazole for IV use; Duavee for the treatment of post-menopausal symptoms in women; Exemptia for autoimmune diseases; Vivitra for breast cancer; and Bryxta and Zybev for various indications. The company has alliances, licenses, and other business relationships with Amgen, Merck, Pfizer, Jazz, Takeda, Gilead Sciences, and Baxter International. Further, it sells Captisol materials. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated was incorporated in 1987 and is based in Jupiter, Florida.

About Provectus Biopharmaceuticals

Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in developing immunotherapy medicines based on halogenated xanthenes in the United States. The company's lead molecule is rose bengal sodium (RBS). Its clinical development programs include PV-10 for the treatment of stage III and IV melanoma and different types of liver cancers; PH-10 for the treatment of psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, and skin inflammation; and PV-305 for the treatment of infectious keratitis. It is also developing oral formulations for adult solid tumor cancers, as well as refractory and relapsed pediatric, and other blood cancers comprising leukemias; PV-10 for the treatment of relapsed and refractory pediatric solid tumor cancers; and other formulations for the treatment of cutaneous canine cancers and healing of full-thickness cutaneous wounds. In addition, the company develops oral and intranasal formulations for the treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial infections; oral bacterial infections; and fungal infections, as well as vertebrate development, wound healing, and tissue regrowth. It has collaboration agreement with Bascom Palmer Eye Institute; and University of Miami. The company was formerly known as Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed its name to Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. in December 2013. Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 2002 and is based in Knoxville, Tennessee.