Reviewing Hepion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:HEPA) and MusclePharm (OTCMKTS:MSLP)

Profitability

This table compares MusclePharm and Hepion Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MusclePharm	-38.51%	N/A	-169.56%
Hepion Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-812.56%	-207.31%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares MusclePharm and Hepion Pharmaceuticals”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MusclePharm	$50.04 million	0.00	-$12.87 million	($0.58)	N/A
Hepion Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	-$48.93 million	($72.15)	0.00

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

15.5% of MusclePharm shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 17.2% of Hepion Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. 60.7% of MusclePharm shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Hepion Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

MusclePharm has a beta of -0.07, suggesting that its stock price is 107% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hepion Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.52, suggesting that its stock price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

MusclePharm beats Hepion Pharmaceuticals on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MusclePharm

MusclePharm Corporation develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes sports nutrition products and nutritional supplements in the United States and internationally. The company offers a range of performance powders, capsules, tablets, gels, and on-the-go ready to eat snacks. Its MusclePharm brand product portfolio includes combat protein powder and combat crunch protein bars; and essential supplements, such as a BCAA, creatine, glutamine, carnitine, CLA, fish oil, multi-vitamin, and other products. The company also provides FitMiss branded sports nutrition products, which are formulated primarily for the female body to support women in the areas of weight management, lean muscle mass, body composition, and general health and wellness; and functional energy beverages under the Combat Energy and FitMiss Energy brands. It sells its products to various athletes and fitness enthusiasts. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

About Hepion Pharmaceuticals

Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of drug therapy treatment for chronic liver diseases in the United States. It develops Rencofilstat, a cyclophilin inhibitor that has completed Phase 2a clinical trials to target multiple pathologic pathways involved in the progression of liver disease; and is in phase 2 clinical development for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), as well as preclinical studies of Rencofilstat shows reduction in liver fibrosis, liver inflammation, liver tumor burden, and titers of HBV, HCV, HDV, and HIV-1, and has demonstrated antiviral activities for hepatitis B, C, and D viruses through several mechanisms. The company was formerly known as ContraVir Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed its name to Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in July 2019. Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Edison, New Jersey.