Analyzing Upstream Bio (NASDAQ:UPB) and Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS)

Upstream Bio (NASDAQ:UPB) and Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Upstream Bio and Ionis Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Upstream Bio	1	2	4	0	2.43
Ionis Pharmaceuticals	1	4	17	0	2.73

Upstream Bio currently has a consensus price target of $29.67, suggesting a potential upside of 611.43%. Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus price target of $89.20, suggesting a potential upside of 104.26%. Given Upstream Bio’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Upstream Bio is more favorable than Ionis Pharmaceuticals.

Profitability

This table compares Upstream Bio and Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Upstream Bio	-4,955.67%	-48.40%	-46.57%
Ionis Pharmaceuticals	-64.76%	-111.08%	-17.41%

Risk and Volatility

Upstream Bio has a beta of 1.38, indicating that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.38, indicating that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Upstream Bio and Ionis Pharmaceuticals”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Upstream Bio	$2.85 million	80.14	-$143.44 million	($2.90)	-1.44
Ionis Pharmaceuticals	$944.00 million	7.69	-$381.39 million	($3.46)	-12.62

Upstream Bio has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Ionis Pharmaceuticals. Ionis Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Upstream Bio, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.9% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. 16.5% of Upstream Bio shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Upstream Bio beats Ionis Pharmaceuticals on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Upstream Bio

Upstream Bio, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops treatments for inflammatory diseases that focuses on severe respiratory disorders. It develops verekitug, a monoclonal antibody that targets and inhibits the thymic stromal lymphopoietin receptor. The company also develops therapies to treat severe asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Upstream Bio, Inc. was incorporated in 2021 and is based in Waltham, Massachusetts.

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.