Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA – Get Free Report) and Scilex (NASDAQ:SCLX – Get Free Report) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, dividends and institutional ownership.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Enanta Pharmaceuticals and Scilex”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Enanta Pharmaceuticals | $65.32 million | 4.98 | -$81.89 million | ($2.41) | -4.64 |
| Scilex | $30.25 million | 0.80 | -$358.73 million | ($49.70) | -0.06 |
Profitability
This table compares Enanta Pharmaceuticals and Scilex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Enanta Pharmaceuticals | -96.89% | -61.84% | -20.70% |
| Scilex | -1,414.57% | N/A | -147.00% |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
95.0% of Enanta Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.7% of Scilex shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.5% of Enanta Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.5% of Scilex shares are owned 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.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Enanta Pharmaceuticals and Scilex, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Enanta Pharmaceuticals | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Scilex | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Enanta Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus price target of $19.00, suggesting a potential upside of 69.95%. Given Enanta Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Enanta Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Scilex.
Volatility and Risk
Enanta Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Scilex has a beta of 1.72, meaning that its stock price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Enanta Pharmaceuticals beats Scilex on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Enanta Pharmaceuticals
Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company, discovers and develops small molecule drugs for the treatment of viral infections and liver diseases. Its product pipeline comprises EDP-514, which is in phase 1b clinical development for the treatment of chronic infection with hepatitis B virus or HBV; EDP-938 and EDP-323, which is in phase II clinical development for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus; EDP-235, which is in phase II clinical development for the treatment of human coronaviruses; and Glecaprevir, which is in the market for the treatment of chronic infection with hepatitis C virus or HCV. The company has a collaborative development and license agreement with Abbott Laboratories to develop, manufacture, and commercialize HCV NS3 and NS3/4A protease inhibitor compounds, including paritaprevir and glecaprevir. Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts.
About Scilex
Scilex Holding Company focuses on acquiring, developing, and commercializing non-opioid pain management products for the treatment of acute and chronic pain. Its commercial products include ZTlido (lidocaine topical system) 1.8% (ZTlido), a prescription lidocaine topical product for the relief of neuropathic pain associated with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), which is a form of post-shingles nerve pain; ELYXYB, a ready-to-use oral solution for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults; and GLOPERBA, a liquid oral version of the anti-gout medicine colchicine indicated for the prophylaxis of painful gout flares in adults. The company is also developing three product candidates, including SP-102 (10 mg dexamethasone sodium phosphate viscous gel) (SEMDEXA), a novel viscous gel formulation of a used corticosteroid for epidural injections, which has completed a Phase 3 study to treat lumbosacral radicular pain or sciatica; SP-103 (lidocaine topical system) 5.4% (SP-103), a formulation of ZTlido for the treatment of chronic neck pain and low back pain (LBP) that has completed a Phase 2 trial; and SP-104 (4.5 mg low-dose naltrexone hydrochloride delayed-release capsules) (SP-104), a novel low-dose delayed-release naltrexone hydrochloride, which has completed Phase 1 trials for the treatment of fibromyalgia. The company is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.
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