Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND – Get Free Report) and Nurix Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NRIX – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
91.3% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.6% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of Nurix Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Ligand Pharmaceuticals and Nurix Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Ligand Pharmaceuticals | 67.88% | 20.06% | 11.68% |
| Nurix Therapeutics | -928.44% | -76.09% | -57.31% |
Valuation and Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Ligand Pharmaceuticals | $268.09 million | 21.42 | $124.45 million | $9.35 | 30.81 |
| Nurix Therapeutics | $83.98 million | 32.45 | -$264.46 million | ($3.45) | -7.61 |
Ligand Pharmaceuticals has higher revenue and earnings than Nurix Therapeutics. Nurix Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ligand Pharmaceuticals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Ligand Pharmaceuticals and Nurix Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Ligand Pharmaceuticals | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Nurix Therapeutics | 1 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 2.80 |
Ligand Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus price target of $335.75, indicating a potential upside of 16.56%. Nurix Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $34.21, indicating a potential upside of 30.29%. Given Nurix Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Nurix Therapeutics is more favorable than Ligand Pharmaceuticals.
Volatility and Risk
Ligand Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.11, indicating that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nurix Therapeutics has a beta of 1.8, indicating that its stock price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Ligand Pharmaceuticals beats Nurix Therapeutics on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Ligand Pharmaceuticals
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children. The company also offers TZIELD, a CD3-directed antibody indicated to delay the onset of Stage 3 type 1 diabetes (T1D) in adults and children aged 8 years and older with Stage 2 T1D; Nexterone, a captisol-enabled formulation of amiodarone; Zulresso, a captisol-enabled formulation of brexanolone for the treatment of postpartum depression; and Veklury, an antiviral treatment for moderate or severe COVID-19. In addition, it provides Noxafil-IV, a captisol-enabled formulation of posaconazole for IV use; Duavee for the treatment of post-menopausal symptoms in women; Exemptia for autoimmune diseases; Vivitra for breast cancer; and Bryxta and Zybev for various indications. The company has alliances, licenses, and other business relationships with Amgen, Merck, Pfizer, Jazz, Takeda, Gilead Sciences, and Baxter International. Further, it sells Captisol materials. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated was incorporated in 1987 and is based in Jupiter, Florida.
About Nurix Therapeutics
Nurix Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of small molecule and cell therapies for the treatment of cancer, inflammatory conditions, and other diseases. The company develops NX-2127, an orally bioavailable Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) degrader for the treatment of relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies; NX-5948, an orally bioavailable BTK degrader for the treatment of relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies and autoimmune diseases; and NX-1607, an orally bioavailable Casitas B-lineage lymphoma proto-oncogene-B (CBL-B) inhibitor for immuno-oncology indications. It is also developing NX-0479/GS-6791, a IRAK4 degrader for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. The company has a strategic collaboration agreement with Gilead Sciences, Inc., Sanofi S.A., and Seagen Inc. co-development and co-commercialization for multiple drug candidates. The company was formerly known as Nurix Inc. and changed its name to Nurix Therapeutics, Inc. in October 2018. Nurix Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
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