Head to Head Analysis: Qualigen Therapeutics (NASDAQ:QLGN) and Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS)

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Qualigen Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ionis Pharmaceuticals	1	5	12	1	2.68
Qualigen Therapeutics	0	0	0	0	0.00

Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus price target of $60.65, indicating a potential upside of 79.30%. Given Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Ionis Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Qualigen Therapeutics.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Qualigen Therapeutics”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ionis Pharmaceuticals	$788.00 million	6.78	-$366.29 million	($2.44)	-13.86
Qualigen Therapeutics	$4.98 million	0.22	-$13.42 million	N/A	N/A

Qualigen Therapeutics has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ionis Pharmaceuticals.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

93.9% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.2% of Qualigen Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 2.7% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Qualigen Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Qualigen Therapeutics has a beta of -0.74, indicating that its share price is 174% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ionis Pharmaceuticals	-44.58%	-88.98%	-12.42%
Qualigen Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-424.18%

Summary

Ionis Pharmaceuticals beats Qualigen Therapeutics on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Qualigen Therapeutics

Qualigen Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company, focuses on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutic products for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. It offers FastPack, a patent-protected rapid, onsite immunoassay testing system. The company is developing QN-302 for the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; QN-247, an oligonucleotide-based drug candidate to treat various nucleolin-expressing cancers, including liquid and solid tumors; QN-165, a drug candidate for the potential broad-spectrum treatment of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19; RAS-F, a small-molecule RAS oncogene protein-protein inhibitor that blocks RAS mutations and inhibits tumor formation; and selective target antigen removal system, a therapeutic device to remove circulating tumor cells, viruses, inflammation factors, and immune checkpoints. Qualigen Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is based in Carlsbad, California.