Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) and Parnell Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:PARNF) Critical Contrast

Parnell Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:PARNF) and Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) are both medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

19.9% of Assembly Biosciences shares are held by institutional investors. 5.3% of Assembly Biosciences 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 summary of current ratings and price targets for Parnell Pharmaceuticals and Assembly Biosciences, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Parnell Pharmaceuticals	0	0	0	0	0.00
Assembly Biosciences	1	1	6	0	2.63

Assembly Biosciences has a consensus target price of $41.00, suggesting a potential upside of 49.85%. Given Assembly Biosciences’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Assembly Biosciences is more favorable than Parnell Pharmaceuticals.

Profitability

This table compares Parnell Pharmaceuticals and Assembly Biosciences’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Parnell Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	N/A
Assembly Biosciences	-103.65%	-59.01%	-28.61%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Parnell Pharmaceuticals and Assembly Biosciences”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Parnell Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Assembly Biosciences	$28.52 million	15.18	-$40.18 million	($4.79)	-5.71

Parnell Pharmaceuticals has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Assembly Biosciences.

Summary

Assembly Biosciences beats Parnell Pharmaceuticals on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Parnell Pharmaceuticals

Parnell Pharmaceuticals Holdings Ltd, a commercial-stage pharmaceutical company, focuses on developing, manufacturing, and marketing animal pharmaceutical products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Companion Animal, Production Animal – U.S., Production Animal – Rest of World, and Manufacturing Operations. It markets various products, including estroPLAN and GONAbreed reproductive hormone products for enhancing cattle breeding performance; Zydax for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) in dogs and horses; and Glyde, a nutraceutical product for the treatment of OA, as well as Parnell PROcept, which adds an additional injection of estroPLAN after the first injection. The company also offers mySYNCH, a digital tool to help veterinarians and producers optimize reproduction and maximize economic gains. Parnell Pharmaceuticals Holdings Ltd was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Alexandria, Australia.

About Assembly Biosciences

Assembly Biosciences, Inc., a biotechnology company, develops therapeutic candidates for the treatment of viral diseases. It develops ABI-5366, a long-acting herpes simplex virus (HSV) helicase-primase inhibitor that is in Phase 1a/1b clinical trial to treat recurrent genital herpes; ABI-1179, which is in Phase 1a/1b clinical trial for the treatment of recurrent genital herpes; and ABI-6250, a small molecule orally bioavailable hepatitis delta virus entry inhibitor that is in Phase 1a clinical trial. The company also develops ABI-4334, a next-generation capsid assembly modulator, which is in Phase 1b clinical trial for the treatment of hepatitis B virus (HBV). In addition, it develops an oral non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitor targeting transplant-related herpesviruses; and a small molecule interferon-a receptor agonist targeting HBV and HDV. The company has collaboration agreements with Gilead Sciences, Inc. and BeiGene, Ltd. The company was formerly known as Ventrus Biosciences, Inc. and changed its name to Assembly Biosciences, Inc. in June 2014. Assembly Biosciences, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.