Contrasting Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA) & Ovid Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OVID)

Ovid Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OVID) and Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ENTA) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, earnings and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

72.2% of Ovid Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.0% of Enanta Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.0% of Ovid Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 11.5% of Enanta Pharmaceuticals shares are owned 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.

Profitability

This table compares Ovid Therapeutics and Enanta Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ovid Therapeutics	N/A	-23.64%	-20.52%
Enanta Pharmaceuticals	-96.89%	-61.84%	-20.70%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ovid Therapeutics and Enanta Pharmaceuticals”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ovid Therapeutics	$7.25 million	65.06	-$17.41 million	($0.31)	-7.79
Enanta Pharmaceuticals	$65.32 million	4.66	-$81.89 million	($2.41)	-4.34

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Ovid Therapeutics and Enanta Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ovid Therapeutics	1	0	11	1	2.92
Enanta Pharmaceuticals	1	0	3	0	2.50

Ovid Therapeutics presently has a consensus target price of $6.00, indicating a potential upside of 148.45%. Enanta Pharmaceuticals has a consensus target price of $19.00, indicating a potential upside of 81.66%. Given Ovid Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ovid Therapeutics is more favorable than Enanta Pharmaceuticals.

Volatility & Risk

Ovid Therapeutics has a beta of 0.24, indicating that its stock price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Enanta Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.75, indicating that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Ovid Therapeutics beats Enanta Pharmaceuticals on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ovid Therapeutics

Ovid Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of impactful medicines for patients and families with epilepsies and seizure-related neurological disorders in the United States. The company is developing soticlestat, a novel cholesterol 24 hydroxylase inhibitor, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the potential treatment of patients with resistant epilepsies; OV329, a GABA aminotransferase inhibitor which is in Phase 1 clinical trials for the treatment of seizures associated with tuberous sclerosis complex and infantile spasms; and OV350, a small molecule direct activator of the KCC2 transporter, which is in Phase 1 clinical trials for treating epilepsies. It also develops OV815, that focuses on the mutations associated with KIF1A-associated neurological disorder (KAND); OV888 (GV101), a highly selective rock2 inhibitor which is in Phase 1 double-blind multiple-ascending dose trial; OV825, has advanced to potential candidate lead identification for the rare neurodevelopmental condition HNRNPH2 (Bain Syndrome); and OV882, a short hairpin RNA gene therapy for the treatment of Angelman syndrome. The company has license and collaboration agreements with Healx, AstraZeneca AB, H. Lundbeck A/S, Northwestern University, and Graviton, as well as Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Enanta Pharmaceuticals

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company, discovers and develops small molecule drugs for the treatment of viral infections and liver diseases. Its product pipeline comprises EDP-514, which is in phase 1b clinical development for the treatment of chronic infection with hepatitis B virus or HBV; EDP-938 and EDP-323, which is in phase II clinical development for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus; EDP-235, which is in phase II clinical development for the treatment of human coronaviruses; and Glecaprevir, which is in the market for the treatment of chronic infection with hepatitis C virus or HCV. The company has a collaborative development and license agreement with Abbott Laboratories to develop, manufacture, and commercialize HCV NS3 and NS3/4A protease inhibitor compounds, including paritaprevir and glecaprevir. Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts.