Analyzing Portage Biotech (NASDAQ:PRTG) & Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK)

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) and Portage Biotech (NASDAQ:PRTG) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Comstock Resources and Portage Biotech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Comstock Resources	4.27%	1.25%	0.48%
Portage Biotech	N/A	-177.66%	-129.14%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

36.1% of Comstock Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.4% of Portage Biotech shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Comstock Resources shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Comstock Resources and Portage Biotech, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Comstock Resources	2	6	2	0	2.00
Portage Biotech	0	1	1	0	2.50

Comstock Resources presently has a consensus target price of $10.25, indicating a potential downside of 2.98%. Portage Biotech has a consensus target price of $8.50, indicating a potential upside of 4,754.37%. Given Portage Biotech’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Portage Biotech is more favorable than Comstock Resources.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Comstock Resources and Portage Biotech’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Comstock Resources	$1.57 billion	1.97	$211.12 million	$0.22	48.02
Portage Biotech	N/A	N/A	-$104.61 million	($8.34)	-0.02

Comstock Resources has higher revenue and earnings than Portage Biotech. Portage Biotech is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Comstock Resources, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Comstock Resources has a beta of 0.51, indicating that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Portage Biotech has a beta of 1.48, indicating that its share price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Comstock Resources beats Portage Biotech on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Comstock Resources

Comstock Resources, Inc., an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of natural gas and oil properties in the United States. Its assets are located in the Haynesville and Bossier shales located in North Louisiana and East Texas. The company was incorporated in 1919 and is headquartered in Frisco, Texas.

About Portage Biotech

Portage Biotech Inc., a clinical stage immune-oncology company, engages in the research and develops pharmaceutical and biotechnology products. Its product pipeline includes PORT-2 for treatment of refractory NSCLC, melanoma, and refractory melanoma that is in phase I and phase II clinical trials; PORT-3, for treatment of solid tumors, which is in phase I clinical trials; PORT-6, an A2AR inhibitor to treat A2A & A2B high solid tumors that is in phase Ia clinical trials; PORT-7, an A2AR inhibitor to treat A2A & A2B high solid tumors that is in phase Ib clinical trials; PORT-1, an intratumoral amphiphilic solutions for treatment of advanced soft tissue sarcoma, which is in phase 3 clinical trials; PORT-4, a nanolipogel co-formulations to treat of solid tumors that is in preclinical trials; and PORT-5, a VLP-STING to treat of solid tumors that is in preclinical trials. The company is based in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.