Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) versus Lexaria Bioscience (NASDAQ:LEXX) Financial Analysis

Lexaria Bioscience (NASDAQ:LEXX) and Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings and dividends.

Risk & Volatility

Lexaria Bioscience has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Merck & Co., Inc. has a beta of 0.13, suggesting that its stock price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

13.1% of Lexaria Bioscience shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.1% of Merck & Co., Inc. shares are held by institutional investors. 8.4% of Lexaria Bioscience shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Merck & Co., Inc. shares are held by company 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.

Profitability

This table compares Lexaria Bioscience and Merck & Co., Inc.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lexaria Bioscience	N/A	-174.93%	-143.89%
Merck & Co., Inc.	3.64%	16.56%	5.89%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Lexaria Bioscience and Merck & Co., Inc., as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lexaria Bioscience	1	0	1	0	2.00
Merck & Co., Inc.	1	11	16	1	2.59

Lexaria Bioscience currently has a consensus price target of $22.50, indicating a potential upside of 377.71%. Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus price target of $155.74, indicating a potential upside of 6.25%. Given Lexaria Bioscience’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Lexaria Bioscience is more favorable than Merck & Co., Inc..

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Lexaria Bioscience and Merck & Co., Inc.”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lexaria Bioscience	$710,000.00	14.00	-$11.90 million	($5.10)	-0.92
Merck & Co., Inc.	$65.01 billion	5.56	$18.25 billion	$0.97	151.11

Merck & Co., Inc. has higher revenue and earnings than Lexaria Bioscience. Lexaria Bioscience is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Merck & Co., Inc., indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Merck & Co., Inc. beats Lexaria Bioscience on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lexaria Bioscience

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. is a biotechnology company focused on drug-delivery technologies. Its principal platform, DehydraTECH, is designed to improve the delivery and absorption of active pharmaceutical ingredients and other bioactive compounds, with the potential to enhance oral bioavailability and facilitate delivery across the blood-brain barrier. The company conducts research and development involving cannabinoids, nicotine, and pharmaceutical compounds for potential applications including hypertension, diabetes, epilepsy, obesity, and neurological conditions.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. is a global pharmaceutical company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal-health products. The company’s research and commercial activities span areas including oncology, infectious diseases, vaccines, cardiovascular disease and immunology. Its products include the cancer medicine Keytruda and the Gardasil vaccine. Founded in the United States in 1891, Merck & Co. became an independent company in 1917. It is headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, and operates internationally.