Head-To-Head Comparison: Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ) versus Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST)

Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ) and Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Aquestive Therapeutics”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Jazz Pharmaceuticals	$4.60 billion	3.08	-$356.15 million	$14.50	15.06
Aquestive Therapeutics	$44.54 million	13.47	-$83.78 million	($0.65)	-7.35

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

Risk & Volatility

Jazz Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.37, suggesting that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aquestive Therapeutics has a beta of 1.49, suggesting that its share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

89.1% of Jazz Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.5% of Aquestive Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 4.1% of Jazz Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.8% of Aquestive Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Aquestive Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Jazz Pharmaceuticals	20.45%	33.97%	13.02%
Aquestive Therapeutics	-144.63%	N/A	-52.40%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Aquestive Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Jazz Pharmaceuticals	0	1	18	1	3.00
Aquestive Therapeutics	1	0	4	1	2.83

Jazz Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus target price of $291.25, indicating a potential upside of 33.34%. Aquestive Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $8.60, indicating a potential upside of 79.92%. Given Aquestive Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Aquestive Therapeutics is more favorable than Jazz Pharmaceuticals.

Summary

Jazz Pharmaceuticals beats Aquestive Therapeutics on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc identifies, develops, and commercializes pharmaceutical products for unmet medical needs in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers Xywav for cataplexy or excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) with narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia; Xyrem to treat cataplexy or EDS with narcolepsy; Epidiolex for seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet syndromes, or tuberous sclerosis complex; Zepzelca to treat metastatic small cell lung cancer, or with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy; Rylaze for acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma; Enrylaze to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoblastic lymphoma; Defitelio to treat severe hepatic veno-occlusive disease; and Vyxeos for newly-diagnosed therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia. It also develops Zanidatamab to treat HER2-expressing gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GEA), and patients with HER2-expressing metastatic GEA; Zepzelca for the treatment of patients with select relapsed/refractory solid tumors based on limited response in three solid tumor cohorts; JZP815, a pan-RAF kinase inhibitor that targets components of the mitogen-activated protein kinase; JZP898, a conditionally-activated interferon alpha molecule; Epidiolex to treat LGS, DS, and TSC; Suvecaltamide to treat parkinson’s disease tremor; JZP150, a fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitor program to treat post-traumatic stress disorder; and JZP441 to treat narcolepsy, IH, and other sleep disorders. The company has licensing and collaboration agreements with XL-protein GmbH to extend the plasma half-life of selected asparaginase product candidates; Redx Pharma plc for preclinical activities Ras/Raf/MAP kinase pathway program; and Autifony Therapeutics Limited on discovering and developing drug candidates targeting two different ion channel targets associated with neurological disorders. The company was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

About Aquestive Therapeutics

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. operates as a pharmaceutical company in the United States and internationally. The company markets Sympazan, an oral soluble film formulation of clobazam for the treatment of lennox-gastaut syndrome; Suboxone, a sublingual film formulation of buprenorphine and naloxone for the treatment of opioid dependence; Zuplenz, an oral soluble film formulation of ondansetron for the treatment of nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy and post-operative recovery; and Azstarys, a once-daily product for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Its proprietary product candidates comprise Libervant, a buccal soluble film formulation of diazepam for the treatment of seizures; KYNMOBI, a sublingual film formulation of apomorphine for the treatment of episodic off-periods in Parkinson's disease; and Exservan, an oral soluble film formulation of riluzole for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The company's proprietary pipeline of complex molecule product includes AQST-108, a sublingual film formulation delivering systemic epinephrine for the treatment of conditions other than anaphylaxis; and Anaphylm, an epinephrine sublingual film for the emergency treatment of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. In addition, it develops Adrenaverse, an epinephrine prodrug platform. The company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Warren, New Jersey.