Analyzing Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (LXRX) & Its Rivals

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) is one of 844 publicly-traded companies in the “Biotechnology” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Lexicon Pharmaceuticals to similar companies based on the strength of its risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Lexicon Pharmaceuticals and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals	-147.38%	-37.53%	-24.96%
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Competitors	-12,359.35%	-203.09%	-30.93%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

74.7% of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.9% of shares of all “Biotechnology” companies are owned by institutional investors. 14.0% of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.0% of shares of all “Biotechnology” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals’ competitors have a beta of 1.14, indicating that their average share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Lexicon Pharmaceuticals and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals	1	1	3	0	2.40
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Competitors	9847	15133	45517	1589	2.54

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus price target of $5.80, indicating a potential upside of 207.04%. As a group, “Biotechnology” companies have a potential upside of 100.06%. Given Lexicon Pharmaceuticals’ higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Lexicon Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than its competitors.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Lexicon Pharmaceuticals and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals	$49.80 million	-$50.34 million	-13.49
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Competitors	$698.13 million	$10.43 million	-15.34

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals’ competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Lexicon Pharmaceuticals. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals beats its competitors on 7 of the 13 factors compared.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. Its orally-delivered small molecule drug candidates under development comprise Sotagliflozin that completed Phase III clinical trials for the for the treatment of heart failure and type 1 diabetes; and LX9211, which is in Phase II clinical development for the treatment of neuropathic pain and LX2761, which is in Phase I clinical development for gastrointestinal tract. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has strategic collaboration and license agreements with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Genentech, Inc. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.