Lipocine (NASDAQ:LPCN – Get Free Report) and Veru (NASDAQ:VERU – Get Free Report) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and earnings.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Lipocine and Veru, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Lipocine | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Veru | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2.50 |
Lipocine presently has a consensus target price of $4.00, suggesting a potential upside of 177.78%. Veru has a consensus target price of $24.50, suggesting a potential upside of 993.75%. Given Veru’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Veru is more favorable than Lipocine.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
9.1% of Lipocine shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.2% of Veru shares are held by institutional investors. 4.7% of Lipocine shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 14.2% of Veru shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Lipocine and Veru’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Lipocine | -755.39% | -64.75% | -57.62% |
| Veru | N/A | -47.58% | -35.83% |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Lipocine and Veru”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Lipocine | $1.98 million | 5.99 | -$9.63 million | ($1.79) | -0.80 |
| Veru | $16.89 million | 2.26 | -$22.73 million | ($0.69) | -3.25 |
Lipocine has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Veru. Veru is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lipocine, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility and Risk
Lipocine has a beta of 0.4, suggesting that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Veru has a beta of -1.21, suggesting that its stock price is 221% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Veru beats Lipocine on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Lipocine
Lipocine Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research and development for the delivery of drugs for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Its lead product candidate is TLANDO, an oral testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) comprising testosterone undecanoate. The company's pipeline candidates also include TLANDO XR a candidate for oral TRT for once daily dosing, which has completed Phase 2b clinical study; LPCN 1148, an oral prodrug of bioidentical testosterone, being developed for the treatment of cirrhosis, currently under Phase 2 clinical studies; LPCN 1154, An oral neurosteroid, being developed for the treatment of postpartum depression, currently under Phase 2 studies; LPCN 2101, a NAS candidate, for women with epilepsy; and LPCN 2203 for essential tremor. It is also involved in the development of LPCN 1144, an oral prodrug of bioidentical testosterone for the treatment of pre-cirrhotic non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, which has completed Phase 2 testing; and LPCN 1107, an oral product candidate of 17-alpha-hydroxy progesterone caproate product, currently under Phase 3 studies for the prevention of recurrent preterm birth. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
About Veru
Veru Inc., a late clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing medicines for treatment of metabolic diseases, oncology, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Its marketed products comprise FC2 female condom for the dual protection against unplanned pregnancy and the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. The company’s development program includes enobosarm, a selective androgen receptor modulator for treatment of augment fat loss and to prevent muscle loss in sarcopenic obese and overweight elderly patients; Enobosarm, a selective androgen receptor modulator for the treatment of AR+ ER+ HER2- metastatic breast cancer; and sabizabulin, a microtubule disruptor for the treatment of hospitalized patients with viral lung infection on oxygen support who are at high risk for viral induced ARDS and death. The company was formerly known as The Female Health Company and changed its name to Veru Inc. in July 2017. Veru Inc. was incorporated in 1971 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.
Receive News & Ratings for Lipocine Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Lipocine and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
