Analyzing Milestone Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MIST) & Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) and Milestone Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MIST) are both medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, valuation and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

95.2% of Alkermes shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.2% of Milestone Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.9% of Alkermes shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.9% of Milestone Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Alkermes and Milestone Pharmaceuticals”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alkermes	$1.66 billion	2.57	$355.76 million	$1.95	13.57
Milestone Pharmaceuticals	$1.00 million	76.71	-$59.69 million	($1.02)	-1.41

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

Profitability

This table compares Alkermes and Milestone Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alkermes	22.15%	24.92%	14.55%
Milestone Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-165.26%	-55.71%

Volatility and Risk

Alkermes has a beta of 0.46, meaning that its stock price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Milestone Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.72, meaning that its stock price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Alkermes and Milestone Pharmaceuticals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alkermes	1	3	6	0	2.50
Milestone Pharmaceuticals	0	0	4	0	3.00

Alkermes presently has a consensus target price of $34.90, indicating a potential upside of 31.85%. Milestone Pharmaceuticals has a consensus target price of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 733.33%. Given Milestone Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Milestone Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Alkermes.

Summary

Alkermes beats Milestone Pharmaceuticals on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alkermes

Alkermes plc, a biopharmaceutical company, researches, develops, and commercializes pharmaceutical products to address unmet medical needs of patients in therapeutic areas in the United States, Ireland, and internationally. It has a portfolio of proprietary commercial products for the treatment of alcohol dependence, opioid dependence, schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder and a pipeline of clinical and preclinical product candidates in development for neurological disorders. Its marketed products include ARISTADA, an intramuscular injectable suspension for the treatment of schizophrenia; ARISTADA INITIO for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults; VIVITROL for the treatment of alcohol and prevention of opioid dependence; and LYBALVI, an oral atypical antipsychotic drug candidate for the treatment of adults with schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder. It has collaboration agreements primarily with Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V., Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc, and Janssen Pharmaceutica International. The company also offers proprietary technology platforms to third parties to enable them to develop, commercialize, and manufacture products. Alkermes plc was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

About Milestone Pharmaceuticals

Milestone Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of cardiovascular medicines. The company's lead product candidate is etripamil, a novel and potent calcium channel blocker, which is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia in the United States and Canada; and Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of atrial fibrillation and rapid ventricular rate. It has a license and collaboration agreement with Ji Xing Pharmaceuticals to develop and commercialize etripamil prophylactic and therapeutic uses in humans, as well as with the Montreal Heart Institute, the WCN network, and other research centers. The company was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Montréal, Canada.