Reviewing Mereo BioPharma Group (NASDAQ:MREO) and Incyte (NASDAQ:INCY)

Incyte (NASDAQ:INCY) and Mereo BioPharma Group (NASDAQ:MREO) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Incyte and Mereo BioPharma Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Incyte	27.71%	29.93%	22.88%
Mereo BioPharma Group	N/A	-74.82%	-64.28%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Incyte and Mereo BioPharma Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Incyte	$5.14 billion	4.47	$1.29 billion	$7.85	14.43
Mereo BioPharma Group	$500,000.00	98.72	-$41.88 million	($0.04)	-7.73

Incyte has higher revenue and earnings than Mereo BioPharma Group. Mereo BioPharma Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Incyte, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.0% of Incyte shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.8% of Mereo BioPharma Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.2% of Incyte shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.5% of Mereo BioPharma Group 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.

Risk and Volatility

Incyte has a beta of 0.74, meaning that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mereo BioPharma Group has a beta of 0.2, meaning that its share price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Incyte and Mereo BioPharma Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Incyte	0	13	11	1	2.52
Mereo BioPharma Group	2	3	3	0	2.12

Incyte presently has a consensus price target of $128.20, indicating a potential upside of 13.18%. Mereo BioPharma Group has a consensus price target of $1.67, indicating a potential upside of 439.20%. Given Mereo BioPharma Group’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Mereo BioPharma Group is more favorable than Incyte.

Summary

Incyte beats Mereo BioPharma Group on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Incyte

Incyte Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutics for hematology/oncology, and inflammation and autoimmunity areas in the United States and internationally. The company offers JAKAFI (ruxolitinib) for treatment of intermediate or high-risk myelofibrosis, polycythemia vera, and steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease; MONJUVI (tafasitamab-cxix)/MINJUVI (tafasitamab) for relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; PEMAZYRE (pemigatinib), a fibroblast growth factor receptor kinase inhibitor that act as oncogenic drivers in liquid and solid tumor types; ICLUSIG (ponatinib) to treat chronic myeloid leukemia and Philadelphia-chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia; and ZYNYZ (retifanlimab-dlwr) to treat adults with metastatic or recurrent locally advanced Merkel cell carcinoma, as well as OPZELURA cream for treatment of atopic dermatitis. Its clinical stage products include retifanlimab under Phase 3 clinical trials for squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal and non-small cell lung cancer; axatilimab, an anti-CSF-1R monoclonal antibody under Phase 2 that is being developed as a therapy for patients with chronic GVHD; INCA033989 to inhibit oncogenesis; INCB160058, which is being developed as a disease-modifying therapeutic; and INCB99280 and INCB99318 for the treatment solid tumors. The company also develops INCB123667, INCA32459, and INCA33890, as well as Ruxolitinib cream, Povorcitinib, and INCA034460. It has collaboration out-license agreements with Novartis and Lilly; in-license agreements with Agenus, Merus, MacroGenics, and Syndax; and collaboration and license agreement with China Medical System Holdings Limited for the development and commercialization of povorcitinib. The company sells its products to specialty, retail, and hospital pharmacies, distributors, and wholesalers. The company was formerly known as Incyte Genomics Inc and changed its name to Incyte Corporation in March 2003. Incyte Corporation was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware.

About Mereo BioPharma Group

Mereo BioPharma Group plc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops and commercializes therapeutics for the treatment of oncology and rare diseases in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It develops Etigilimab (MPH-313), an antibody T-cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains, which is in Phase 1b clinical trial for the treatment of tumors. The company is also developing Navicixizumab (OMP-305B83), which has completed Phase 1b clinical trials for the treatment of the late line ovarian cancer; Acumapimod (BCT-197), a p38 MAP kinase inhibitor that is in Phase II clinical trials to treat acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; and Leflutrozole (BGS-649), an oral aromatase inhibitor for the treatment of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism which is in Phase 2 trials. In addition, it develops rare disease product candidates, including Setrusumab (BPS-804), an antibody for the treatment of osteogenesis imperfecta; and Alvelestat (MPH-966), an oral small molecule that is in Phase II clinical trial to treat Alpha-1 anti-trypsin deficiency. The company has a license agreement with Feng Biosciences for the development and commercialization of navicixizumab; license agreement with ReproNovo for the development and commercialization of leflutrozole; licensing agreement with AstraZeneca; and license agreement with Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. to develop and commercialize setrusumab. Mereo BioPharma Group plc was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.