Comparing Evolus (NASDAQ:EOLS) & Talphera (NASDAQ:TLPH)

Evolus (NASDAQ:EOLS) and Talphera (NASDAQ:TLPH) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.7% of Evolus shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.7% of Talphera shares are held by institutional investors. 5.0% of Evolus shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of Talphera shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Evolus and Talphera’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Evolus	-10.85%	N/A	-13.00%
Talphera	N/A	-87.28%	-51.36%

Volatility and Risk

Evolus has a beta of 1.33, indicating that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Talphera has a beta of 0.67, indicating that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Evolus and Talphera, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Evolus	1	1	4	0	2.50
Talphera	1	1	2	0	2.25

Evolus presently has a consensus target price of $14.50, suggesting a potential upside of 87.58%. Talphera has a consensus target price of $3.00, suggesting a potential upside of 177.78%. Given Talphera’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Talphera is more favorable than Evolus.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Evolus and Talphera”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Evolus	$297.18 million	1.72	-$51.64 million	($0.52)	-14.87
Talphera	$30,000.00	1,868.76	-$14.29 million	($0.27)	-4.00

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

Summary

Evolus beats Talphera on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Evolus

Evolus, Inc., a performance beauty company, focuses on delivering products in the cash-pay aesthetic market in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The company offers Jeuveau, a proprietary 900 kilodalton purified botulinum toxin type A formulation for the temporary improvement in the appearance of moderate to severe glabellar lines in adults. It also provides dermal filler products under the Estyme and Evolysse names. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.

About Talphera

Talphera, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapies for use in medically supervised settings. Its lead product candidate is Niyad, a lyophilized formulation of nafamostat, which is under an investigational device exemption as an anticoagulant for the extracorporeal circuit. It is also developing LTX-608, an anti-inflammatory and antiviral potential for the treatment of multiple conditions, including disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and acute pancreatitis; Fedsyra, a pre-filled ephedrine syringe; and PFS-02, a pre-filled phenylephrine syringe. The company was formerly known as AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed its name to Talphera, Inc. in January 2024. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in San Mateo, California.