Analyzing Incyte (NASDAQ:INCY) and Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR)

Incyte (NASDAQ:INCY) and Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Incyte	27.71%	29.93%	22.88%
Vir Biotechnology	-638.88%	-29.99%	-23.62%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Incyte and Vir Biotechnology”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Incyte	$5.14 billion	4.78	$1.29 billion	$7.85	15.46
Vir Biotechnology	$68.56 million	27.59	-$437.99 million	($1.86)	-6.01

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

Risk and Volatility

Incyte has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vir Biotechnology has a beta of 1.63, indicating that its stock price is 63% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Incyte and Vir Biotechnology, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Incyte	0	12	12	1	2.56
Vir Biotechnology	1	0	6	1	2.88

Incyte presently has a consensus target price of $124.80, indicating a potential upside of 2.84%. Vir Biotechnology has a consensus target price of $21.57, indicating a potential upside of 92.95%. Given Vir Biotechnology’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Vir Biotechnology is more favorable than Incyte.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.0% of Incyte shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.3% of Vir Biotechnology shares are held by institutional investors. 16.2% of Incyte shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of Vir Biotechnology shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Incyte beats Vir Biotechnology on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Incyte

Incyte Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutics for hematology/oncology, and inflammation and autoimmunity areas in the United States and internationally. The company offers JAKAFI (ruxolitinib) for treatment of intermediate or high-risk myelofibrosis, polycythemia vera, and steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease; MONJUVI (tafasitamab-cxix)/MINJUVI (tafasitamab) for relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; PEMAZYRE (pemigatinib), a fibroblast growth factor receptor kinase inhibitor that act as oncogenic drivers in liquid and solid tumor types; ICLUSIG (ponatinib) to treat chronic myeloid leukemia and Philadelphia-chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia; and ZYNYZ (retifanlimab-dlwr) to treat adults with metastatic or recurrent locally advanced Merkel cell carcinoma, as well as OPZELURA cream for treatment of atopic dermatitis. Its clinical stage products include retifanlimab under Phase 3 clinical trials for squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal and non-small cell lung cancer; axatilimab, an anti-CSF-1R monoclonal antibody under Phase 2 that is being developed as a therapy for patients with chronic GVHD; INCA033989 to inhibit oncogenesis; INCB160058, which is being developed as a disease-modifying therapeutic; and INCB99280 and INCB99318 for the treatment solid tumors. The company also develops INCB123667, INCA32459, and INCA33890, as well as Ruxolitinib cream, Povorcitinib, and INCA034460. It has collaboration out-license agreements with Novartis and Lilly; in-license agreements with Agenus, Merus, MacroGenics, and Syndax; and collaboration and license agreement with China Medical System Holdings Limited for the development and commercialization of povorcitinib. The company sells its products to specialty, retail, and hospital pharmacies, distributors, and wholesalers. The company was formerly known as Incyte Genomics Inc and changed its name to Incyte Corporation in March 2003. Incyte Corporation was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware.

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.