Critical Survey: Cronos Group (NASDAQ:CRON) and Takeda Pharmaceutical (NYSE:TAK)

Takeda Pharmaceutical (NYSE:TAK) and Cronos Group (NASDAQ:CRON) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

Takeda Pharmaceutical has a beta of -0.07, indicating that its stock price is 107% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cronos Group has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Takeda Pharmaceutical and Cronos Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Takeda Pharmaceutical	$28.32 billion	2.06	-$1.01 billion	$0.34	53.53
Cronos Group	$146.59 million	8.30	-$9.45 million	$0.20	16.50

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

Profitability

This table compares Takeda Pharmaceutical and Cronos Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Takeda Pharmaceutical	3.80%	10.95%	5.34%
Cronos Group	39.08%	4.85%	4.62%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

9.2% of Takeda Pharmaceutical shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 8.7% of Cronos Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Takeda Pharmaceutical shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.8% of Cronos Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Takeda Pharmaceutical and Cronos Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Takeda Pharmaceutical	0	1	2	1	3.00
Cronos Group	0	2	3	0	2.60

Cronos Group has a consensus target price of $2.30, indicating a potential downside of 30.30%. Given Cronos Group’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Cronos Group is more favorable than Takeda Pharmaceutical.

Summary

Takeda Pharmaceutical beats Cronos Group on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Takeda Pharmaceutical

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited engages in the research, development, manufacture, marketing, and out-licensing of pharmaceutical products in Japan and internationally. It offers pharmaceutical products in the areas of gastroenterology, rare diseases, plasma derived therapies, immunology, oncology, and neuroscience. The company provides its products under the Entyvio, Gattex/Revestive, Takecab/Vocinti, Alofisel, Dexilant, Pantoloc/Controloc, Adynovate/Adynovi, Feiba, Recombinate, Hemofil/Immunate/Immunine, Takhzyro, Livtencity, Elaprase, Replagal, Advate, Flexbumin, Vpriv, Gammagard Liquid/Kiovig, Hyqvia, Cuvitru, Exkivity, Ninlaro, Velcade, Azilva-F, Lotriga, Iclusig, Leuplin/Enantone, Adcetris, vyvanse/elvanse, Trintellix, and Alunbrig brands. It has in-license agreement with BioMarin, Luxna Biotech, GlaxoSmithKline, Halozyme, and Kamada; collaboration with Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc., Seagen Inc., Anima Biotech, Denali Therapeutics, KSQ Therapeutics, Noile-Immune Biotech, Center for iPS Cell Research Application, Kyoto University (CiRA), and Charles River Laboratories; licensing agreement with Mirum Pharmaceuticals and Twist Bioscience, UCSD/Fortis Advisors, PeptiDream, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, and Xenetic Biosciences; collaboration and licensing agreement with Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc., Engitix, Genevant Sciences Corporation, Sosei Heptares, Zedira/Dr. Falk Pharma, Exelixis, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, Heidelberg Pharma, HUTCHMED, Presage Biosciences, Codexis, Inc., Ensoma, Envozyne, KM Biologics, and Selecta BioScience, and Ovid Therapeutics Inc.; and collaboration with ZEDIRA GmbH and Dr. Falk Pharma GmbH. It has research collaboration and licensing agreement with Crescendo Biologics, Code Bio, Immusoft, Poseida Therapeutics, and Selecta Biosciences. The company was founded in 1781 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Cronos Group

Cronos Group Inc. operates as a cannabinoid company that engages in the cultivation, production and marketing of cannabis products in Canada, Israel, and Germany. It offers dried flower, pre-rolls, oils, vaporizers, edibles, and cannabis tinctures under the Spinach, Lord Jones, and PEACE NATURALS brands. Cronos Group Inc. was founded in 2012 and is based in Toronto, Canada.