KemPharm (NASDAQ:KMPH – Get Rating) and Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV – Get Rating) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for KemPharm and Verve Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
Get KemPharm alerts:| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| KemPharm | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Verve Therapeutics | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2.33 |
KemPharm currently has a consensus price target of $17.25, indicating a potential upside of 195.88%. Verve Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $40.00, indicating a potential upside of 111.30%. Given KemPharm's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe KemPharm is more favorable than Verve Therapeutics.
Profitability
This table compares KemPharm and Verve Therapeutics' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| KemPharm | -328.56% | -16.12% | -14.17% |
| Verve Therapeutics | N/A | -38.52% | -34.12% |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares KemPharm and Verve Therapeutics' revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| KemPharm | $28.65 million | 7.02 | -$8.56 million | N/A | N/A |
| Verve Therapeutics | $929,000.00 | 1,255.29 | -$120.31 million | ($2.90) | -6.53 |
KemPharm has higher revenue and earnings than Verve Therapeutics.
Volatility and Risk
KemPharm has a beta of 2.16, indicating that its share price is 116% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Verve Therapeutics has a beta of 1.54, indicating that its share price is 54% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
19.4% of KemPharm shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.5% of Verve Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of KemPharm shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 26.4% of Verve Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
KemPharm beats Verve Therapeutics on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.
About KemPharm
(Get Rating)
KemPharm, Inc. is a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company, which engages in the discovery and development of proprietary prodrugs. It focuses on the treatment of serious medical conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, pain, and other central nervous system disorders through its platform technology known as Ligand Activated Therapy. The company was founded by Christal M. M. Mickle and Travis C. Mickle on October 30, 2006 and is headquartered in Celebration, FL.
About Verve Therapeutics
(Get Rating)
Verve Therapeutics, Inc., a genetic medicines company, engages in developing gene editing medicines for patients to treat cardiovascular diseases. Its lead product candidate is VERVE-101, a single-course gene editing treatment that permanently turns off the PCSK9 gene in the liver. The company also engages in the development of ANGPTL3 program to permanently turn off the ANGPTL3 gene in the liver. It has a collaboration and license agreement with Beam Therapeutics Inc.; a development and option agreement with Acuitas Therapeutics, Inc.; and a Cas9 license agreement with The Broad Institute and the President and Fellows of Harvard College. The company was formerly known as Endcadia, Inc. and changed its name to Verve Therapeutics, Inc. in January 2019. Verve Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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