Veru (NASDAQ:VERU – Get Free Report) and Scilex (NASDAQ:SCLX – Get Free Report) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.
Risk and Volatility
Veru has a beta of -1.17, meaning that its stock price is 217% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Scilex has a beta of 1.65, meaning that its stock price is 65% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Veru and Scilex, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Veru | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2.33 |
| Scilex | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Veru and Scilex”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Veru | $16.89 million | 2.52 | -$22.73 million | ($0.69) | -3.62 |
| Scilex | $30.25 million | 1.42 | -$358.73 million | ($49.70) | -0.10 |
Veru has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Scilex. Veru is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Scilex, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Veru and Scilex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Veru | N/A | -47.58% | -35.83% |
| Scilex | -1,414.57% | N/A | -147.00% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
47.2% of Veru shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.7% of Scilex shares are held by institutional investors. 14.2% of Veru shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.5% of Scilex shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Veru beats Scilex on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Veru
Veru Inc., a late clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing medicines for treatment of metabolic diseases, oncology, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Its marketed products comprise FC2 female condom for the dual protection against unplanned pregnancy and the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. The company’s development program includes enobosarm, a selective androgen receptor modulator for treatment of augment fat loss and to prevent muscle loss in sarcopenic obese and overweight elderly patients; Enobosarm, a selective androgen receptor modulator for the treatment of AR+ ER+ HER2- metastatic breast cancer; and sabizabulin, a microtubule disruptor for the treatment of hospitalized patients with viral lung infection on oxygen support who are at high risk for viral induced ARDS and death. The company was formerly known as The Female Health Company and changed its name to Veru Inc. in July 2017. Veru Inc. was incorporated in 1971 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.
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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