Lipocine (NASDAQ:LPCN – Get Free Report) and Lyell Immunopharma (NASDAQ:LYEL – Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings for Lipocine and Lyell Immunopharma, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Lipocine | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2.67 |
| Lyell Immunopharma | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Lipocine presently has a consensus target price of $7.00, indicating a potential upside of 64.32%. Lyell Immunopharma has a consensus target price of $45.00, indicating a potential upside of 20.42%. Given Lipocine’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Lipocine is more favorable than Lyell Immunopharma.
Volatility & Risk
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Lipocine and Lyell Immunopharma”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Lipocine | $11.20 million | 2.11 | $10,000.00 | ($1.02) | -4.18 |
| Lyell Immunopharma | $60,000.00 | 13,228.98 | -$342.99 million | ($23.02) | -1.62 |
Lipocine has higher revenue and earnings than Lyell Immunopharma. Lipocine is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lyell Immunopharma, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Lipocine and Lyell Immunopharma’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Lipocine | -126.67% | -30.65% | -28.20% |
| Lyell Immunopharma | -794,292.69% | -96.68% | -76.00% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
9.1% of Lipocine shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.1% of Lyell Immunopharma shares are held by institutional investors. 6.4% of Lipocine shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 22.3% of Lyell Immunopharma shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Lipocine beats Lyell Immunopharma on 10 of the 14 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 Lyell Immunopharma
Lyell Immunopharma, Inc., a clinical-stage cell therapy company, develops T cell reprogramming technologies for patients with solid tumors. The company develops therapies using an ex vivo genetic reprogramming technologies, such as c Jun overexpression and NR4A3 gene knockout, to endow resistance to T cell exhaustion; and an ex vivo epigenetic reprogramming technologies, including Epi R to generate population of T cells with durable stemness, and Stim R, a proprietary synthetic cell mimetic. It is also developing LYL797, a genetically and epigenetically reprogrammed ROR1 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell product candidate that is in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of various solid tumors; and LYL845, a novel epigenetically reprogrammed tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes product candidate, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial targeting multiple solid tumor indications. In addition, the company's preclinical product candidates include LYL119, a ROR1 CAR T-cell product for the treatment of enhanced cytotoxicity; and second generation TIL product. Lyell Immunopharma, Inc. was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.
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