United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR – Get Free Report) and Achieve Life Sciences (NASDAQ:ACHV – Get Free Report) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
94.1% of United Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.5% of Achieve Life Sciences shares are held by institutional investors. 10.3% of United Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Achieve Life Sciences shares are held by 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.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares United Therapeutics and Achieve Life Sciences”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| United Therapeutics | $2.88 billion | 6.90 | $1.20 billion | $25.62 | 17.17 |
| Achieve Life Sciences | N/A | N/A | -$39.83 million | ($1.46) | -2.11 |
United Therapeutics has higher revenue and earnings than Achieve Life Sciences. Achieve Life Sciences 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 Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for United Therapeutics and Achieve Life Sciences, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| United Therapeutics | 0 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 2.67 |
| Achieve Life Sciences | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2.75 |
United Therapeutics currently has a consensus target price of $457.21, indicating a potential upside of 3.91%. Achieve Life Sciences has a consensus target price of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 289.61%. Given Achieve Life Sciences’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Achieve Life Sciences is more favorable than United Therapeutics.
Volatility and Risk
United Therapeutics has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Achieve Life Sciences has a beta of 1.58, suggesting that its stock price is 58% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares United Therapeutics and Achieve Life Sciences’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| United Therapeutics | 40.36% | 18.73% | 16.49% |
| Achieve Life Sciences | N/A | -193.49% | -116.68% |
Summary
United Therapeutics beats Achieve Life Sciences on 10 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 Achieve Life Sciences
Achieve Life Sciences, Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, develops and commercializes cytisinicline for smoking cessation and nicotine addiction. The company offers cytisinicline, a plant-based alkaloid that interacts with nicotine receptors in the brain that reduce the severity of nicotine withdrawal symptoms. It has license and supply agreement with Sopharma AD and University of Bristol Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. is based in Vancouver, Canada.
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