Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) and electroCore (NASDAQ:ECOR) Critical Comparison

electroCore (NASDAQ:ECOR) and Esperion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ESPR) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, earnings and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for electroCore and Esperion Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
electroCore	0	0	2	0	3.00
Esperion Therapeutics	0	1	4	0	2.80

electroCore presently has a consensus target price of $25.50, indicating a potential upside of 416.19%. Esperion Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $7.00, indicating a potential upside of 141.38%. Given electroCore’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe electroCore is more favorable than Esperion Therapeutics.

Profitability

This table compares electroCore and Esperion Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
electroCore	-47.84%	-221.93%	-69.17%
Esperion Therapeutics	-35.84%	N/A	-28.41%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

26.7% of electroCore shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.4% of Esperion Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.8% of electroCore shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Esperion Therapeutics 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares electroCore and Esperion Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
electroCore	$25.18 million	1.49	-$11.89 million	($1.62)	-3.05
Esperion Therapeutics	$332.31 million	1.76	-$51.74 million	($0.49)	-5.92

electroCore has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Esperion Therapeutics. Esperion Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than electroCore, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

electroCore has a beta of 0.34, meaning that its share price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Esperion Therapeutics has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Esperion Therapeutics beats electroCore on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About electroCore

electroCore, Inc., a commercial stage bioelectronic medicine and wellness company, provides non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation technology platform in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company is developing gammaCore, a prescription only handheld device intended for regular or intermittent use for the acute treatment of pain associated with migraine and episodic cluster headache, as well as for the treatment of hemicrania continua and paroxysmal hemicrania. It also develops Truvaga for the support of general health and wellbeing; and TAC-STIM for human performance. In addition, the company offers gammacore Sapphire, a portable, reusable, rechargeable, and reloadable prescription medical device for various primary headache conditions. electroCore, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Rockaway, New Jersey.

About Esperion Therapeutics

Esperion Therapeutics, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, develops and commercializes medicines for the treatment of patients with elevated low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Its marketed products include NEXLETOL (bempedoic acid) and NEXLIZET (bempedoic acid and ezetimibe) tablets that are oral, once-daily, non-statin medicines for the treatment of primary hyperlipidemia in adults with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia or atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease who require additional lowering of LDL-C. The company’s products also include NILEMDO, an ATP Citrate Lyase (ACL) inhibitor that lowers LDL-C and cardiovascular risk by reducing cholesterol biosynthesis and up-regulating the LDL receptors; and NUSTENDI, a bempedoic acid and ezetimibe tablet to treat elevated LDL-C. The company has license and collaboration agreements with Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd to; Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd; and Daiichi Sankyo Europe GmbH. Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan.