Head-To-Head Analysis: Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) & Argos Therapeutics (OTCMKTS:ARGSQ)

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) and Argos Therapeutics (OTCMKTS:ARGSQ) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability and risk.

Volatility & Risk

Royalty Pharma has a beta of 0.49, suggesting that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Argos Therapeutics has a beta of 2.47, suggesting that its share price is 147% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Royalty Pharma and Argos Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Royalty Pharma	$2.26 billion	8.57	$858.98 million	$1.45	23.20
Argos Therapeutics	$1.90 million	0.30	-$40.57 million	N/A	N/A

Royalty Pharma has higher revenue and earnings than Argos Therapeutics.

Profitability

This table compares Royalty Pharma and Argos Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Royalty Pharma	37.94%	24.40%	14.01%
Argos Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

54.3% of Royalty Pharma shares are held by institutional investors. 18.9% of Royalty Pharma shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 28.2% of Argos Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Royalty Pharma and Argos Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Royalty Pharma	0	1	4	1	3.00
Argos Therapeutics	0	0	0	0	0.00

Royalty Pharma presently has a consensus target price of $41.60, suggesting a potential upside of 23.66%. Given Royalty Pharma’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Royalty Pharma is more favorable than Argos Therapeutics.

Summary

Royalty Pharma beats Argos Therapeutics on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Royalty Pharma

Royalty Pharma plc operates as a buyer of biopharmaceutical royalties and a funder of innovations in the biopharmaceutical industry in the United States. It is also involved in the identification, evaluation, and acquisition of royalties on various biopharmaceutical therapies. In addition, the company collaborates with innovators from academic institutions, research hospitals and not-for-profits, small and mid-cap biotechnology companies, and pharmaceutical companies. Its portfolio consists of royalties on approximately 35 commercial products and 14 development-stage product candidates that address various therapeutic areas, such as rare disease, cancer, neuroscience, immunology, respiratory, infectious disease, hematology, and diabetes. The company was founded in 1996 and is based in New York, New York.

About Argos Therapeutics

Argos Therapeutics, Inc., an immuno-oncology company, focuses on the development and commercialization of individualized immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases in North America. The company develops immunotherapies based on its proprietary technology platform, Arcelis. Its product candidates include rocapuldencel-T, which is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. The company also develops AGS-004, which is in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus. The company was formerly known as Merix Bioscience, Inc. and changed its name to Argos Therapeutics, Inc. in October 2004. Argos Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is based in Durham, North Carolina. On November 30, 2018, Argos Therapeutics, Inc. filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.