Sol-Gel Technologies (NASDAQ:SLGL) vs. Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) Head-To-Head Survey

Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) and Sol-Gel Technologies (NASDAQ:SLGL) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and dividends.

Risk & Volatility

Assembly Biosciences has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sol-Gel Technologies has a beta of 1.35, meaning that its share price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Assembly Biosciences and Sol-Gel Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Assembly Biosciences	1	1	6	0	2.63
Sol-Gel Technologies	0	2	1	0	2.33

Assembly Biosciences presently has a consensus target price of $41.00, suggesting a potential upside of 48.98%. Sol-Gel Technologies has a consensus target price of $110.00, suggesting a potential upside of 86.44%. Given Sol-Gel Technologies’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Sol-Gel Technologies is more favorable than Assembly Biosciences.

Profitability

This table compares Assembly Biosciences and Sol-Gel Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Assembly Biosciences	-103.65%	-59.01%	-28.61%
Sol-Gel Technologies	-47.37%	-33.61%	-26.27%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Assembly Biosciences and Sol-Gel Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Assembly Biosciences	$28.52 million	15.27	-$40.18 million	($4.79)	-5.75
Sol-Gel Technologies	$11.54 million	14.26	-$10.58 million	($3.26)	-18.10

Sol-Gel Technologies has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Assembly Biosciences. Sol-Gel Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Assembly Biosciences, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

19.9% of Assembly Biosciences shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.2% of Sol-Gel Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 5.1% of Assembly Biosciences shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 66.5% of Sol-Gel Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Sol-Gel Technologies beats Assembly Biosciences on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Assembly Biosciences

Assembly Biosciences, Inc., a biotechnology company, develops therapeutic candidates for the treatment of viral diseases. It develops ABI-5366, a long-acting herpes simplex virus (HSV) helicase-primase inhibitor that is in Phase 1a/1b clinical trial to treat recurrent genital herpes; ABI-1179, which is in Phase 1a/1b clinical trial for the treatment of recurrent genital herpes; and ABI-6250, a small molecule orally bioavailable hepatitis delta virus entry inhibitor that is in Phase 1a clinical trial. The company also develops ABI-4334, a next-generation capsid assembly modulator, which is in Phase 1b clinical trial for the treatment of hepatitis B virus (HBV). In addition, it develops an oral non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitor targeting transplant-related herpesviruses; and a small molecule interferon-a receptor agonist targeting HBV and HDV. The company has collaboration agreements with Gilead Sciences, Inc. and BeiGene, Ltd. The company was formerly known as Ventrus Biosciences, Inc. and changed its name to Assembly Biosciences, Inc. in June 2014. Assembly Biosciences, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.

About Sol-Gel Technologies

Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd., together with its subsidiary Sol-Gel Technologies Inc., develops topical dermatological drugs for patients with severe skin conditions in Israel. The company offers Twyneo, a once-daily, non-antibiotic topical cream for the treatment of acne vulgaris; and Epsolay, a once-daily topical cream for the treatment of papulopustular (subtype II) rosacea. It also develops SGT-610 that is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of Gorlin Syndrome; and SGT-210, which has completed Phase I clinical trial, to treat rare hyperkeratinization disorders, such as Darier, PC, PPK, Olmsted, etc. In addition, the company is also involved in the development of generic topical dermatological drug products. It has collaboration with Padagis Israel Pharmaceuticals Ltd; and license agreements with Galderma Holding SA and Searchlight Pharma Inc. Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Ness Ziona, Israel.