Reviewing Ampio Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:AMPE) and Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX)

Ampio Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:AMPE) and Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

Ampio Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 3.49, indicating that its stock price is 249% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.33, indicating that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Ampio Pharmaceuticals and Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ampio Pharmaceuticals	0	0	0	0	N/A
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals	0	1	3	0	2.75

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals has a consensus price target of $7.50, indicating a potential upside of 377.71%. Given Lexicon Pharmaceuticals’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Lexicon Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Ampio Pharmaceuticals.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ampio Pharmaceuticals and Lexicon Pharmaceuticals”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ampio Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	-$8.63 million	($11.01)	0.00
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals	$3.64 million	106.18	-$177.12 million	($0.83)	-1.89

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

5.7% of Ampio Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.7% of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.3% of Ampio Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.8% of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Ampio Pharmaceuticals and Lexicon Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ampio Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-149.00%	-103.79%
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals	-5,509.34%	-105.38%	-61.89%

Summary

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals beats Ampio Pharmaceuticals on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ampio Pharmaceuticals

Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, develops therapies for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee (OAK) in the United States. It develops OA-201, a small molecule formulation for the treatment of OAK pain. The company is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado.

About Lexicon Pharmaceuticals

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. Its orally-delivered small molecule drug candidates under development comprise Sotagliflozin that completed Phase III clinical trials for the for the treatment of heart failure and type 1 diabetes; and LX9211, which is in Phase II clinical development for the treatment of neuropathic pain and LX2761, which is in Phase I clinical development for gastrointestinal tract. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has strategic collaboration and license agreements with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Genentech, Inc. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.