Veru (NASDAQ:VERU) vs. Lipocine (NASDAQ:LPCN) Critical Contrast

Lipocine (NASDAQ:LPCN) and Veru (NASDAQ:VERU) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Lipocine and Veru”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lipocine	$1.98 million	6.37	-$9.63 million	($1.79)	-0.85
Veru	$16.89 million	2.33	-$22.73 million	($0.69)	-3.35

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

Risk & Volatility

Lipocine has a beta of 0.4, meaning that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Veru has a beta of -1.21, meaning that its share price is 221% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Lipocine and Veru’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lipocine	-755.39%	-64.75%	-57.62%
Veru	N/A	-47.58%	-35.83%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Lipocine and Veru, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lipocine	1	1	1	0	2.00
Veru	1	0	3	0	2.50

Lipocine currently has a consensus target price of $4.00, indicating a potential upside of 161.44%. Veru has a consensus target price of $24.50, indicating a potential upside of 960.61%. Given Veru’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Veru is more favorable than Lipocine.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

9.1% of Lipocine shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.2% of Veru shares are held by institutional investors. 4.7% of Lipocine shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.2% of Veru shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Veru beats Lipocine on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lipocine

Lipocine Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research and development for the delivery of drugs for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Its lead product candidate is TLANDO, an oral testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) comprising testosterone undecanoate. The company's pipeline candidates also include TLANDO XR a candidate for oral TRT for once daily dosing, which has completed Phase 2b clinical study; LPCN 1148, an oral prodrug of bioidentical testosterone, being developed for the treatment of cirrhosis, currently under Phase 2 clinical studies; LPCN 1154, An oral neurosteroid, being developed for the treatment of postpartum depression, currently under Phase 2 studies; LPCN 2101, a NAS candidate, for women with epilepsy; and LPCN 2203 for essential tremor. It is also involved in the development of LPCN 1144, an oral prodrug of bioidentical testosterone for the treatment of pre-cirrhotic non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, which has completed Phase 2 testing; and LPCN 1107, an oral product candidate of 17-alpha-hydroxy progesterone caproate product, currently under Phase 3 studies for the prevention of recurrent preterm birth. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

About Veru

Veru Inc., a late clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing medicines for treatment of metabolic diseases, oncology, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Its marketed products comprise FC2 female condom for the dual protection against unplanned pregnancy and the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. The company’s development program includes enobosarm, a selective androgen receptor modulator for treatment of augment fat loss and to prevent muscle loss in sarcopenic obese and overweight elderly patients; Enobosarm, a selective androgen receptor modulator for the treatment of AR+ ER+ HER2- metastatic breast cancer; and sabizabulin, a microtubule disruptor for the treatment of hospitalized patients with viral lung infection on oxygen support who are at high risk for viral induced ARDS and death. The company was formerly known as The Female Health Company and changed its name to Veru Inc. in July 2017. Veru Inc. was incorporated in 1971 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.