Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS – Get Free Report) and Purple Biotech (NASDAQ:PPBT – Get Free Report) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings, dividends and valuation.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Purple Biotech”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Ionis Pharmaceuticals | $944.00 million | 10.25 | -$381.39 million | ($3.46) | -16.82 |
| Purple Biotech | N/A | N/A | -$26.39 million | ($23.25) | -0.09 |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Purple Biotech, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Ionis Pharmaceuticals | 1 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 2.73 |
| Purple Biotech | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus target price of $94.20, indicating a potential upside of 61.86%. Purple Biotech has a consensus target price of $30.00, indicating a potential upside of 1,403.76%. Given Purple Biotech’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Purple Biotech is more favorable than Ionis Pharmaceuticals.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
93.9% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 9.6% of Purple Biotech shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Purple Biotech 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.
Volatility and Risk
Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.42, indicating that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Purple Biotech has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Purple Biotech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Ionis Pharmaceuticals | -64.76% | -111.08% | -17.41% |
| Purple Biotech | N/A | -147.77% | -111.59% |
Summary
Ionis Pharmaceuticals beats Purple Biotech on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Ionis Pharmaceuticals
Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy. It also develops medicines for various indications that are in phase 3 study, including Eplontersen as a monthly self-administered subcutaneous injection to treat all types of ATTR; Olezarsen for patients with FCS and severe hypertriglyceridemia (SHTG); Donidalorsen for patients with hereditary angioedema; ION363 for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Tofersen to inhibit the production of superoxide dismutase 1; Pelacarsen for patients with established cardiovascular disease and elevated lipoprotein(a); and Bepirovirsen to inhibit the production of viral proteins associated with hepatitis B virus. In addition, the company develops IONIS-FB-LRx to inhibit the production of complement factor B and the alternative complement pathway; and ION224 to reduce the production of diacylglycerol acyltransferase 2. It has a strategic collaboration with Biogen for the treatment of neurological disorders; and collaboration and license agreement with Metagenomi, Inc, AstraZeneca, Bayer AG, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Novartis, Roche, Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB, and PTC Therapeutics. The company was incorporated in 1989 and is based in Carlsbad, California.
About Purple Biotech
Purple Biotech Ltd., a clinical-stage company, focuses on developing therapies to overcome tumor immune evasion and drug resistance for cancer patients in the United States. Its oncology pipeline includes CM24, a humanized monoclonal antibody that blocks the interactions of carcinoembryonic antigen related cell adhesion molecule 1 as a combination therapy with anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; NT219, a small molecule that targets and inhibits insulin receptor substrate 1 and 2, and signal transducer and activator of transcription, which is in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for the treatment recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck cancer or colorectal adenocarcinoma; and IM1240, a multi-valent antibody designed to activate anti-tumoral immune response against 5T4-positive tumors, which is in preclinical stage. The company has collaboration agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb Company to evaluate the combination of CM24 with the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab in addition to chemotherapy. The company was formerly known as Kitov Pharma Ltd and changed its name to Purple Biotech Ltd. in December 2020. The company is headquartered in Rehovot, Israel.
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