Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) and Affymax (OTCMKTS:AFFY) Head-To-Head Comparison

Affymax (OTCMKTS:AFFY) and Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) are both medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

93.9% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of Affymax shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Affymax and Ionis Pharmaceuticals”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Affymax	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ionis Pharmaceuticals	$705.14 million	7.52	-$366.29 million	($3.04)	-10.97

Affymax has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Ionis Pharmaceuticals.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Affymax and Ionis Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Affymax	0	0	0	0	0.00
Ionis Pharmaceuticals	1	5	13	1	2.70

Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus price target of $59.56, indicating a potential upside of 78.63%. Given Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ionis Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Affymax.

Volatility & Risk

Affymax has a beta of 6.58, suggesting that its stock price is 558% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.28, suggesting that its stock price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Affymax	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ionis Pharmaceuticals	-64.25%	-100.05%	-15.70%

Summary

Ionis Pharmaceuticals beats Affymax on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Affymax

Affymax, Inc. does not have significant operations. Previously, it was developing drugs to enhance the treatment of serious and often life-threatening conditions in the United States. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in New York, New York.

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.