Head-To-Head Review: Theravance Biopharma (NASDAQ:TBPH) & Lipocine (NASDAQ:LPCN)

Lipocine (NASDAQ:LPCN) and Theravance Biopharma (NASDAQ:TBPH) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Lipocine and Theravance Biopharma”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lipocine	$1.57 million	8.03	-$9.63 million	($1.79)	-0.85
Theravance Biopharma	$104.31 million	8.48	$105.89 million	$1.01	16.86

Theravance Biopharma has higher revenue and earnings than Lipocine. Lipocine is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Theravance Biopharma, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Lipocine and Theravance Biopharma’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lipocine	-755.39%	-64.75%	-57.62%
Theravance Biopharma	51.58%	-0.77%	-0.46%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Lipocine and Theravance Biopharma, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lipocine	1	1	1	0	2.00
Theravance Biopharma	0	8	0	0	2.00

Lipocine presently has a consensus target price of $4.00, suggesting a potential upside of 161.61%. Theravance Biopharma has a consensus target price of $19.40, suggesting a potential upside of 13.92%. Given Lipocine’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Lipocine is more favorable than Theravance Biopharma.

Risk & Volatility

Lipocine has a beta of 0.4, meaning that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Theravance Biopharma has a beta of 0.25, meaning that its stock price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

9.1% of Lipocine shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.1% of Theravance Biopharma shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.7% of Lipocine shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.6% of Theravance Biopharma shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Theravance Biopharma beats Lipocine on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lipocine

Lipocine Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research and development for the delivery of drugs for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Its lead product candidate is TLANDO, an oral testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) comprising testosterone undecanoate. The company's pipeline candidates also include TLANDO XR a candidate for oral TRT for once daily dosing, which has completed Phase 2b clinical study; LPCN 1148, an oral prodrug of bioidentical testosterone, being developed for the treatment of cirrhosis, currently under Phase 2 clinical studies; LPCN 1154, An oral neurosteroid, being developed for the treatment of postpartum depression, currently under Phase 2 studies; LPCN 2101, a NAS candidate, for women with epilepsy; and LPCN 2203 for essential tremor. It is also involved in the development of LPCN 1144, an oral prodrug of bioidentical testosterone for the treatment of pre-cirrhotic non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, which has completed Phase 2 testing; and LPCN 1107, an oral product candidate of 17-alpha-hydroxy progesterone caproate product, currently under Phase 3 studies for the prevention of recurrent preterm birth. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

About Theravance Biopharma

Theravance Biopharma, Inc. is a diversified biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of organ-selective medicines. Its purpose is to pioneer a new generation of small molecule drugs designed to better meet patient needs. Its research is focused in the areas of inflammation and immunology.
In pursuit of its purpose, Theravance Biopharma applies insights and innovation at each stage of its business and utilizes its internal capabilities and those of partners around the world. The Company applies organ-selective expertise to target disease biologically, to discover and develop medicines that may expand the therapeutic index with the goal of maximizing efficacy and limiting systemic side effects. These efforts leverage years of experience in developing lung-selective medicines to treat respiratory disease, including FDA-approved YUPELRI® (revefenacin) inhalation solution indicated for the maintenance treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Its pipeline of internally discovered programs is targeted to address significant patient needs.
Theravance Biopharma has an economic interest in potential future payments from Glaxo Group Limited or one of its affiliates (GSK) pursuant to its agreements with Innoviva, Inc. relating to certain programs, including TRELEGY.
For more information, please visit www.theravance.com.