Contrasting Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) & BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX)

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

Risk & Volatility

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.55, meaning that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vir Biotechnology has a beta of 1.7, meaning that its share price is 70% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares BioCryst Pharmaceuticals and Vir Biotechnology’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals	-40.90%	-86.89%	66.37%
Vir Biotechnology	N/A	-29.99%	-23.62%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for BioCryst Pharmaceuticals and Vir Biotechnology, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals	1	2	6	0	2.56
Vir Biotechnology	2	0	6	1	2.67

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus target price of $20.38, indicating a potential upside of 167.53%. Vir Biotechnology has a consensus target price of $22.14, indicating a potential upside of 99.38%. Given BioCryst Pharmaceuticals’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe BioCryst Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Vir Biotechnology.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares BioCryst Pharmaceuticals and Vir Biotechnology”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals	$874.84 million	2.22	$263.86 million	($1.50)	-5.08
Vir Biotechnology	$68.56 million	27.41	-$437.99 million	($1.86)	-5.97

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

85.9% of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.3% of Vir Biotechnology shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.8% of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of Vir Biotechnology shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals beats Vir Biotechnology on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company, develops oral small-molecule and protein therapeutics to treat rare diseases. The company markets peramivir injection, an intravenous neuraminidase inhibitor for the treatment of acute uncomplicated influenza under the RAPIVAB, RAPIACTA, and PERAMIFLU names; and ORLADEYO, an oral serine protease inhibitor to treat hereditary angioedema. It is also developing BCX10013, an oral factor D inhibitor for complement-mediated diseases. The company has collaborations and in-license relationships with the Torii Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; Seqirus UK Limited; Shionogi & Co., Ltd.; Green Cross Corporation; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and The University of Alabama at Birmingham, as well as Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Industrial Research, Ltd. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina.

About Vir Biotechnology

Vir Biotechnology, Inc., an immunology company, develops therapeutic products to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. Its clinical development pipeline consists of product candidates targeting hepatitis delta virus (HDV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The company’s preclinical candidates include those targeting influenza A and B, coronavirus disease 2019, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human metapneumovirus (MPV), and human papillomavirus (HPV). The company has grant agreements with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and National Institutes of Health; an option and license agreement with Brii Biosciences Limited; a collaboration and license agreement with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; license agreements with MedImmune, LLC; collaboration with WuXi Biologics (Hong Kong) Limited and Glaxo Wellcome UK Ltd.; and a collaborative research agreement with GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals S.A, as well as license agreement with Sanofi for three clinical-stage masked T-cell engagers (TCEs) and exclusive use of the protease-cleavable masking platform for oncology and infectious diseases. It also has a manufacturing agreement with Samsung Biologics Co.,Ltd. The company was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.