Reviewing Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) & MDxHealth (NASDAQ:MDXH)

MDxHealth (NASDAQ:MDXH) and Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for MDxHealth and Akebia Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MDxHealth	1	1	3	0	2.40
Akebia Therapeutics	1	2	4	0	2.43

MDxHealth presently has a consensus target price of $2.17, suggesting a potential upside of 272.28%. Akebia Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $3.90, suggesting a potential upside of 324.37%. Given Akebia Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Akebia Therapeutics is more favorable than MDxHealth.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

33.9% of Akebia Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of MDxHealth shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Akebia Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares MDxHealth and Akebia Therapeutics”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MDxHealth	$107.88 million	0.27	-$33.52 million	($0.72)	-0.81
Akebia Therapeutics	$219.06 million	1.16	-$5.34 million	($0.11)	-8.35

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

Volatility & Risk

MDxHealth has a beta of 1.57, meaning that its share price is 57% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Akebia Therapeutics has a beta of 0.19, meaning that its share price is 81% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares MDxHealth and Akebia Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MDxHealth	-33.46%	N/A	-24.25%
Akebia Therapeutics	-13.54%	-88.88%	-7.74%

Summary

Akebia Therapeutics beats MDxHealth on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MDxHealth

MDxHealth SA, a commercial-stage precision diagnostics company, provides urologic solutions in the United States, Europe, and internationally. Its testing solutions includes Select mdx, a non-invasive urine test for prostate cancer that measures the expression of two mRNA cancer-related biomarkers; Confirm mdx for prostate cancer tissue test that validates epigenetic test that guides the detection of occult prostate cancer on a patient's previously biopsied negative tissue; and Resolved mdx for urinary tract infection that identifies personalized effective antibiotic options against the patient's infection. The company offers genomic prostate score which provides personalized genomic insights to both physicians and patients navigating the complexities of prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment. It sells its products through urology sales force, consisting of direct sales representatives, strategic account managers, and regional sales managers. The company was formerly known as OncoMethylome Sciences SA and changed its name to MDxHealth SA in October 2010. MDxHealth SA was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Herstal, Belgium.

About Akebia Therapeutics

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for patients with kidney diseases. The company’s lead product investigational product candidate is Vafseo (vadadustat), an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase, which is in Phase III development for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease (CKD) in dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis dependent patients. It offers Auryxia, a ferric citrate that is used to control the serum phosphorus levels in adult patients with DD-CKD on dialysis; and the treatment of iron deficiency anemia in adult patients with CKD not on dialysis. The company’s product pipeline includes AKB-9090, a drug targeting critical-care indications; and AKB-10108, a drug targeting conditions related to premature birth. It has collaboration agreements with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation for the development and commercialization of vadadustat in Japan and other Asian countries, as well as research and license agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV for the development and commercialization of hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase targeted compounds worldwide. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.