Contrasting Amarin (NASDAQ:AMRN) and Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA)

Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA) and Amarin (NASDAQ:AMRN) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Enanta Pharmaceuticals and Amarin”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Enanta Pharmaceuticals	$65.32 million	4.75	-$81.89 million	($2.41)	-4.42
Amarin	$213.65 million	1.21	-$38.80 million	($0.96)	-12.76

Amarin has higher revenue and earnings than Enanta Pharmaceuticals. Amarin is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Enanta Pharmaceuticals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Enanta Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amarin has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Enanta Pharmaceuticals and Amarin, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Enanta Pharmaceuticals	1	0	3	0	2.50
Amarin	2	0	0	1	2.00

Enanta Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus price target of $19.00, suggesting a potential upside of 78.40%. Amarin has a consensus price target of $13.00, suggesting a potential upside of 6.12%. Given Enanta Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Enanta Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Amarin.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.0% of Enanta Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.3% of Amarin shares are held by institutional investors. 11.5% of Enanta Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.2% of Amarin shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Enanta Pharmaceuticals and Amarin’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%
Amarin	-10.87%	-0.52%	-0.36%

Summary

Amarin beats Enanta Pharmaceuticals on 8 of the 15 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 Amarin

Amarin Corporation plc, a pharmaceutical company, engages in the development and commercialization of therapeutics for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in the United States, European countries, Canada, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates. The company offers VASCEPA, a prescription-only omega-3 fatty acid product, used as an adjunct to diet for reducing triglyceride levels in adult patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia. It sells its products principally to wholesalers and specialty pharmacy providers. The company has a collaboration with Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. to develop and commercialize drug products and indications based on the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Vascepa. The company was formerly known as Ethical Holdings plc and changed its name to Amarin Corporation plc in 1999. Amarin Corporation plc was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.