Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) & Hikma Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:HKMPF) Head-To-Head Survey

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) and Hikma Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:HKMPF) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ionis Pharmaceuticals	-28.25%	-45.29%	-8.99%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Hikma Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ionis Pharmaceuticals	1	3	15	1	2.80
Hikma Pharmaceuticals	0	0	1	0	3.00

Ionis Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus target price of $78.50, suggesting a potential upside of 7.40%. Given Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Ionis Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Hikma Pharmaceuticals.

Risk & Volatility

Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.33, indicating that its share price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hikma Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.54, indicating that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ionis Pharmaceuticals	$705.00 million	16.52	-$453.90 million	($1.84)	-39.72
Hikma Pharmaceuticals	$3.13 billion	1.70	$359.00 million	N/A	N/A

Hikma Pharmaceuticals has higher revenue and earnings than Ionis Pharmaceuticals.

Summary

Hikma Pharmaceuticals beats Ionis Pharmaceuticals on 7 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 Hikma Pharmaceuticals

Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC develops, manufactures, markets, and sells a range of generic, branded, and in-licensed pharmaceutical products. It operates through three segments: Injectables, Generics, and Branded. The Injectables segment provides generic injectable products primarily for use in hospitals. The Generics segment offers oral and other non-injectable generic products for the retail market. The Branded segment offers branded generics and in-licensed products to retail and hospital markets. The company provides its products in various therapeutic areas, including respiratory, oncology, and pain management. It also offers its products in solid, semi-solid, liquid, and injectable final dosage forms. The company operates in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, North America, the Middle East, North Africa, and internationally. Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.