ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) vs. BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:BMRN) Head-To-Head Review

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) and BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:BMRN) are both medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, risk and dividends.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares ACADIA Pharmaceuticals and BioMarin Pharmaceutical”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals	$1.07 billion	3.53	$391.00 million	$2.20	10.04
BioMarin Pharmaceutical	$3.22 billion	3.19	$348.90 million	$1.37	38.86

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has higher earnings, but lower revenue than BioMarin Pharmaceutical. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BioMarin Pharmaceutical, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BioMarin Pharmaceutical has a beta of 0.23, suggesting that its stock price is 77% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

96.7% of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.7% of BioMarin Pharmaceutical shares are owned by institutional investors. 26.2% of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of BioMarin Pharmaceutical 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 ACADIA Pharmaceuticals and BioMarin Pharmaceutical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals	34.30%	9.61%	7.07%
BioMarin Pharmaceutical	8.29%	6.50%	5.07%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for ACADIA Pharmaceuticals and BioMarin Pharmaceutical, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals	1	4	14	1	2.75
BioMarin Pharmaceutical	0	7	15	1	2.74

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus price target of $31.00, indicating a potential upside of 40.33%. BioMarin Pharmaceutical has a consensus price target of $89.91, indicating a potential upside of 68.88%. Given BioMarin Pharmaceutical’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe BioMarin Pharmaceutical is more favorable than ACADIA Pharmaceuticals.

Summary

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals beats BioMarin Pharmaceutical on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization innovative medicines that address unmet medical needs in central nervous system (CNS) disorders and rare diseases in the United States. The company offers NUPLAZID (pimavanserin) for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis; and DAYBUE, a novel synthetic analog of the amino-terminal tripeptide of insulin-like growth factor 1 for treatment of Rett Syndrome. It also develops Pimavanserin that is in Phase III ADVANCE-2 study to treat the negative symptoms of schizophrenia; ACP-101 whixh is in Phase III for the treatment of hyperphagia in Prader-Willi syndrome; ACP-204 which is in Phase II for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease psychosis; ACP-2591 that is in Phase I for Rett syndrome and Fragile X syndrome; preclinical antisense oligonucleotide programs; and other programs for neuropsychiatric symptoms. It has a license agreement with Neuren Pharmaceuticals Limited to develop and commercialize trofinetide for Rett syndrome and other indications; and a license and collaboration agreement with Stoke Therapeutics, Inc. to discover, develop and commercialize novel RNA-based medicines for the potential treatment of severe and rare genetic neurodevelopmental diseases of the CNS. The company was formerly known as Receptor Technologies, Inc. and changed its name ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. in 1997. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About BioMarin Pharmaceutical

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. develops and commercializes therapies for people with serious and life-threatening rare diseases and medical conditions. Its commercial products include Vimizim, an enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) IV type A, a lysosomal storage disorder; Naglazyme, a recombinant form of N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfatase for patients with MPS VI; and Kuvan, a proprietary synthetic oral form of 6R-BH4 that is used to treat patients with phenylketonuria (PKU), an inherited metabolic disease. The company's commercial products also comprise Palynziq, a PEGylated recombinant phenylalanine ammonia lyase enzyme, which is delivered through subcutaneous injection to reduce blood Phe concentrations; Brineura, a recombinant human tripeptidyl peptidase 1 for the treatment of patients with ceroid lipofuscinosis type 2, a form of Batten disease; Voxzogo, a once daily injection analog of c-type natriuretic peptide for the treatment of achondroplasia; and Aldurazyme, a purified protein designed to be identical to a naturally occurring form of the human enzyme alpha-L-iduronidase. In addition, it develops Roctavian, an adeno associated virus vector, for the treatment of patients with severe hemophilia A. The company serves specialty pharmacies, hospitals, and non-U.S. government agencies, as well as distributors and pharmaceutical wholesalers in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and internationally. BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. has license and collaboration agreements with Sarepta Therapeutics, Ares Trading S.A., Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in San Rafael, California.