Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) and MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) Head-To-Head Survey

Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) and MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

33.9% of Akebia Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.5% of MannKind shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.3% of Akebia Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of MannKind shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Akebia Therapeutics and MannKind”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Akebia Therapeutics	$236.20 million	1.14	-$5.34 million	($0.11)	-8.86
MannKind	$348.97 million	3.74	$5.86 million	($0.13)	-31.23

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

Risk and Volatility

Akebia Therapeutics has a beta of 0.19, indicating that its stock price is 81% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MannKind has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Akebia Therapeutics and MannKind’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Akebia Therapeutics	-13.54%	-88.88%	-7.74%
MannKind	-11.08%	-11.21%	-6.31%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Akebia Therapeutics and MannKind, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Akebia Therapeutics	1	2	3	0	2.33
MannKind	2	1	6	0	2.44

Akebia Therapeutics presently has a consensus price target of $3.75, suggesting a potential upside of 284.73%. MannKind has a consensus price target of $8.39, suggesting a potential upside of 106.72%. Given Akebia Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Akebia Therapeutics is more favorable than MannKind.

Summary

MannKind beats Akebia Therapeutics on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Akebia Therapeutics

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for patients with kidney diseases. The company’s lead product investigational product candidate is Vafseo (vadadustat), an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase, which is in Phase III development for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease (CKD) in dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis dependent patients. It offers Auryxia, a ferric citrate that is used to control the serum phosphorus levels in adult patients with DD-CKD on dialysis; and the treatment of iron deficiency anemia in adult patients with CKD not on dialysis. The company’s product pipeline includes AKB-9090, a drug targeting critical-care indications; and AKB-10108, a drug targeting conditions related to premature birth. It has collaboration agreements with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation for the development and commercialization of vadadustat in Japan and other Asian countries, as well as research and license agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV for the development and commercialization of hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase targeted compounds worldwide. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

About MannKind

MannKind Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of inhaled therapeutic products for endocrine and orphan lung diseases in the United States. It offers Afrezza, an inhaled insulin used to improve glycemic control in adults with diabetes, and the V-Go wearable insulin delivery device, which provides continuous subcutaneous infusion of insulin in adults. The company's product pipeline also includes Tyvaso DPI (Treprostinil), an inhalation powder for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease; MNKD-101, a nebulized formulation of clofazimine, for the treatment of severe chronic and recurrent pulmonary infections, including nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease; MNKD-201, a dry-powder formulation of nintedanib, for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). In addition, it has collaboration and license agreement with United Therapeutics Corporation for development, regulatory, and commercial activities of Tyvaso DPI; co-promotion agreement with Vertice Pharma to promote Thyquidity; and collaboration agreement with Thirona to evaluate the therapeutic for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis. Further, the company has supply and distribution agreement with Biomm S.A. for the commercialization of Afrezza in Brazil; and license and distribution agreement with Cipla Ltd. for the marketing and distribution of Afrezza in India. MannKind Corporation was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Danbury, Connecticut.