Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS – Get Free Report) and Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL – Get Free Report) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and profitability.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Alkermes and Ocular Therapeutix, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Alkermes | 1 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 2.58 |
| Ocular Therapeutix | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2.86 |
Alkermes presently has a consensus price target of $35.42, suggesting a potential upside of 23.06%. Ocular Therapeutix has a consensus price target of $16.71, suggesting a potential upside of 89.29%. Given Ocular Therapeutix’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ocular Therapeutix is more favorable than Alkermes.
Risk and Volatility
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Alkermes and Ocular Therapeutix”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Alkermes | $1.66 billion | 2.80 | $355.76 million | $1.95 | 14.76 |
| Ocular Therapeutix | $58.44 million | 23.76 | -$80.74 million | ($1.32) | -6.69 |
Alkermes has higher revenue and earnings than Ocular Therapeutix. Ocular Therapeutix is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alkermes, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
95.2% of Alkermes shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.2% of Ocular Therapeutix shares are held by institutional investors. 4.9% of Alkermes shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of Ocular Therapeutix shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Alkermes and Ocular Therapeutix’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Alkermes | 22.15% | 24.92% | 14.55% |
| Ocular Therapeutix | -283.74% | -45.18% | -30.87% |
Summary
Alkermes beats Ocular Therapeutix on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Alkermes
Alkermes plc, a biopharmaceutical company, researches, develops, and commercializes pharmaceutical products to address unmet medical needs of patients in therapeutic areas in the United States, Ireland, and internationally. It has a portfolio of proprietary commercial products for the treatment of alcohol dependence, opioid dependence, schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder and a pipeline of clinical and preclinical product candidates in development for neurological disorders. Its marketed products include ARISTADA, an intramuscular injectable suspension for the treatment of schizophrenia; ARISTADA INITIO for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults; VIVITROL for the treatment of alcohol and prevention of opioid dependence; and LYBALVI, an oral atypical antipsychotic drug candidate for the treatment of adults with schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder. It has collaboration agreements primarily with Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V., Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc, and Janssen Pharmaceutica International. The company also offers proprietary technology platforms to third parties to enable them to develop, commercialize, and manufacture products. Alkermes plc was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.
About Ocular Therapeutix
Ocular Therapeutix, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the formulation, development, and commercialization of therapies for diseases and conditions of the eye using its bioresorbable hydrogel-based formulation technology in the United States. The company markets DEXTENZA, a dexamethasone ophthalmic insert to treat post-surgical ocular inflammation and pain following ophthalmic surgery, as well as allergic conjunctivitis. It is developing AXPAXLI, an axitinib intravitreal implant that is in phase 3 trials for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration and other retinal diseases; PAXTRAVA, a travoprost intracameral implant, which is in phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension; OTX-CSI, a cyclosporine intracanalicular insert that has completed phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of dry eye disease; and OTX-DED, a dexamethasone intracanalicular insert, which is in phase 2 clinical trials for the short-term treatment of the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease. In addition, the company offers modulator for intermediate and late dry age-related macular degeneration; and gene delivery for inherited retinal degenerations and protein biofactory indications. The company has a strategic collaboration with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Regeneron) for the development and commercialization of products using the company’s sustained-release hydrogel in combination with Regeneron’s large molecule VEGF-targeting compounds for the treatment of retinal diseases; and AffaMed Therapeutics Limited for the development and commercialization of DEXTENZA and OTX-TIC. Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts.
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