ImmuCell (NASDAQ:ICCC) versus Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) Critical Contrast

ImmuCell (NASDAQ:ICCC) and Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ImmuCell and Amphastar Pharmaceuticals”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ImmuCell	$27.64 million	3.37	-$1.04 million	$0.08	128.12
Amphastar Pharmaceuticals	$730.02 million	1.46	$98.09 million	$1.69	14.88

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has higher revenue and earnings than ImmuCell. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ImmuCell, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

ImmuCell has a beta of 0.56, meaning that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares ImmuCell and Amphastar Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ImmuCell	2.57%	2.69%	1.76%
Amphastar Pharmaceuticals	10.76%	14.98%	6.96%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for ImmuCell and Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ImmuCell	0	1	0	0	2.00
Amphastar Pharmaceuticals	1	7	0	0	1.88

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a consensus price target of $22.50, suggesting a potential downside of 10.50%. Given Amphastar Pharmaceuticals’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Amphastar Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than ImmuCell.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

13.5% of ImmuCell shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.1% of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.7% of ImmuCell shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 29.6% of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals beats ImmuCell on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ImmuCell

ImmuCell Corporation, an animal health company, develops, manufactures, and sells products that enhance the health and productivity of dairy and beef cattle in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Scours and Mastitis. It offers First Defense, an orally delivered scours preventive product for calves with claims against E. coli, coronavirus, and rotavirus; and Tri-Shield First Defense, a passive antibody product for the treatment of E. coli, coronavirus, and rotavirus. The company also provides California Mastitis Test, a quick on-farm diagnostic that is used to detect somatic cell counts in milk, as well as to determine, which quarter of the udder is mastitic; and Dual-Force First Defense, a bivalent gel tube formulation. In addition, it is developing Re-Tain Drug Product, a Nisin-based intramammary treatment of subclinical mastitis in lactating dairy cows. It sells its products through animal health distributors. ImmuCell Corporation was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in Portland, Maine.

About Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a bio-pharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells generic and proprietary injectable, inhalation, and intranasal products in the United States, China, and France. It offers BAQSIMI, a nasal spray for the treatment of severe hypoglycemia; Primatene Mist, an over-the-counter epinephrine inhalation product for the temporary relief of mild symptoms of intermittent asthma; Enoxaparin, to prevent and treat deep vein thrombosis; REXTOVY and Naloxone for opioid overdose; Glucagon for injection emergency kit; and Cortrosyn, for use as a diagnostic agent in the screening of patients with adrenocortical insufficiency. The company provides Amphadase, an injection to absorb and disperse other injected drugs; Epinephrine injection for allergic reactions; Lidocaine jelly, an anesthetic product for urological procedures; Lidocaine topical solution for various procedures; Phytonadione injection, a vitamin K1 injection for newborn babies; emergency syringe products; morphine injection for use with patient-controlled analgesia pumps; and Lorazepam injection for surgery and medical procedures. In addition, it offers Neostigmine methylsulfate injection to treat myasthenia gravis and to reverse the effects of muscle relaxants; Isoproterenol hydrochloride injection for mild or transient episodes of heart block; Ganirelix Acetate injection for the inhibition of premature luteinizing hormone surges; Vasopressin to increase blood pressure; and Regadenoson, a stress agent for radionuclide myocardial perfusion imaging. Further, the company distributes recombinant human insulin APIs and porcine insulin API. Additionally, it develops generic product candidates, such as injectable, inhalation, and analytical technologies; biosimial product candidates; and intranasal epinephrine for the treatment of allergic reactions. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, California.