Lipella Pharmaceuticals (LIPO) vs. The Competition Critical Review

Lipella Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LIPO) is one of 1,049 publicly-traded companies in the “Pharmaceutical preparations” industry, but how does it compare to its rivals? We will compare Lipella Pharmaceuticals to similar businesses based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, risk and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

74.3% of Lipella Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.3% of shares of all “Pharmaceutical preparations” companies are owned by institutional investors. 32.1% of Lipella Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.8% of shares of all “Pharmaceutical preparations” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Lipella Pharmaceuticals and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lipella Pharmaceuticals	$483,533.00	-$4.62 million	-0.66
Lipella Pharmaceuticals Competitors	$1.72 billion	$154.00 million	-5.60

Lipella Pharmaceuticals’ rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Lipella Pharmaceuticals. Lipella Pharmaceuticals is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Lipella Pharmaceuticals and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lipella Pharmaceuticals	-882.82%	-192.33%	-154.24%
Lipella Pharmaceuticals Competitors	-3,610.16%	-274.38%	-39.07%

Risk & Volatility

Lipella Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.31, suggesting that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lipella Pharmaceuticals’ rivals have a beta of 1.05, suggesting that their average share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Lipella Pharmaceuticals and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lipella Pharmaceuticals	0	0	1	0	3.00
Lipella Pharmaceuticals Competitors	7622	20910	48555	1193	2.55

Lipella Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus target price of $16.00, indicating a potential upside of 471.43%. As a group, “Pharmaceutical preparations” companies have a potential upside of 71.08%. Given Lipella Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Lipella Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than its rivals.

Summary

Lipella Pharmaceuticals beats its rivals on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

Lipella Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Lipella Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biotechnology company, focuses on developing drugs by reformulating the active agents in existing generic drugs and optimizing these reformulations for various applications. The company develops LP-10, a formulation of tacrolimus that has completed Phase 2a clinical trial for patients with radiation-induced hemorrhagic cystitis; LP-310, a formulation of tacrolimus for the treatment of oral lichen planus; and LP-410, an oral liposomal formulation of tacrolimus for the treatment of oral graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Lipella Pharmaceuticals Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.