Financial Comparison: United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) versus Emergent Biosolutions (NYSE:EBS)

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) and Emergent Biosolutions (NYSE:EBS) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

United Therapeutics has a beta of 0.56, suggesting that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Emergent Biosolutions has a beta of 2.34, suggesting that its share price is 134% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares United Therapeutics and Emergent Biosolutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Therapeutics	41.56%	20.18%	17.98%
Emergent Biosolutions	-22.95%	16.35%	6.17%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares United Therapeutics and Emergent Biosolutions”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Therapeutics	$3.18 billion	6.41	$1.33 billion	$27.95	17.01
Emergent Biosolutions	$742.90 million	0.47	$52.60 million	($3.55)	-1.91

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for United Therapeutics and Emergent Biosolutions, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Therapeutics	1	2	11	0	2.71
Emergent Biosolutions	2	1	3	0	2.17

United Therapeutics currently has a consensus target price of $621.00, suggesting a potential upside of 30.61%. Emergent Biosolutions has a consensus target price of $10.00, suggesting a potential upside of 47.17%. Given Emergent Biosolutions’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Emergent Biosolutions is more favorable than United Therapeutics.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.1% of United Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.4% of Emergent Biosolutions shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.6% of United Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.0% of Emergent Biosolutions shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

United Therapeutics beats Emergent Biosolutions on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation, a biotechnology company, engages in the development and commercialization of products to address the unmet medical needs of patients with chronic and life-threatening diseases in the United States and internationally. The company offers Tyvaso DPI, an inhaled dry powder via pre-filled and single-use cartridges; Tyvaso, an inhaled solution via ultrasonic nebulizer; Remodulin (treprostinil) injection to treat patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to diminish symptoms associated with exercise; Orenitram, a tablet dosage form of treprostinil, to delay disease progression and improve exercise capacity in PAH patients; and Adcirca, an oral PDE-5 inhibitor to enhance the exercise ability in PAH patients. It also markets and sells Unituxin (dinutuximab) injection, a monoclonal antibody for treating high-risk neuroblastoma; and Remunity Pump, which contains a pump and separate controller for Remodulin. In addition, the company engages in developing RemoPro and Ralinepag for the treatment of PAH; Aurora-GT, a gene therapy product to rebuild the blood vessels in the lungs; and Nebulized Tyvaso, for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, as well as xenografts, which are development-stage organ products. It has licensing and collaboration agreements with DEKA Research & Development Corp. to develop a semi-disposable system for the subcutaneous delivery of treprostinil; MannKind Corporation to develop and license treprostinil inhalation powder and the Dreamboat device; and Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop Ralinepag. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland.

About Emergent Biosolutions

Emergent BioSolutions Inc., a life sciences company, provides preparedness and response solutions for accidental, deliberate, and naturally occurring public health threats in the United States. The company offers NARCAN Nasal Spray for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose; Vaxchora vaccine for the prevention of cholera; Vivotif vaccine for oral administration for the prevention of typhoid fever; Anthrasil for the treatment of inhalational anthrax; BioThrax, an anthrax vaccine; CYFENDUS for post-exposure prophylaxis of disease following suspected or confirmed exposure to Bacillus anthracis; and Raxibacumab injection for the treatment and prophylaxis of inhalational anthrax. It also provides ACAM2000, a smallpox vaccine; CNJ-016 to address complications from smallpox vaccination; TEMBEXA for the treatment of smallpox disease caused by variola virus in adult and pediatric patients; BAT for the treatment of symptomatic botulism; Ebanga for the treatment of Ebola; Reactive Skin Decontamination Lotion Kit to remove or neutralize chemical warfare agents from the skin; Trobigard, a atropine sulfate obidoxime chloride auto-injector. In addition, the company is developing CGRD-001 for the treatment of poisoning by organophosphorus nerve agents or organophosphorus compounds; EBS-LASV to prevent Lassa fever; EBS-MARV to prevent Marburg virus disease; EBS-SUDV to prevent Sudan virus disease; Pan-Ebola mAbs for the treatment of ebola virus; SIAN Antidote for initial treatment of certain or suspected acute cyanide poisoning; UniFlu for immunity against influenza A and B viruses; and WEVEE-VLP for equine encephalitis virus infections. Further, it provides contract development and manufacturing services comprising drug substance and product manufacturing, and packaging, as well as technology transfer, process, and analytical development services. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.