Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS – Get Free Report) and Krystal Biotech (NASDAQ:KRYS – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, earnings, profitability and valuation.
Profitability
This table compares Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Krystal Biotech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Ionis Pharmaceuticals | -64.76% | -111.08% | -17.41% |
| Krystal Biotech | 54.82% | 19.34% | 17.65% |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Krystal Biotech”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Ionis Pharmaceuticals | $944.00 million | 7.53 | -$381.39 million | ($3.46) | -12.36 |
| Krystal Biotech | $389.13 million | 25.17 | $204.83 million | $7.98 | 41.46 |
Krystal Biotech has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ionis Pharmaceuticals. Ionis Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Krystal Biotech, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Krystal Biotech, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Ionis Pharmaceuticals | 1 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 2.73 |
| Krystal Biotech | 0 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 3.00 |
Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus target price of $89.20, suggesting a potential upside of 108.65%. Krystal Biotech has a consensus target price of $377.20, suggesting a potential upside of 14.00%. Given Ionis Pharmaceuticals’ higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Ionis Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Krystal Biotech.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
93.9% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.3% of Krystal Biotech shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.1% of Krystal Biotech shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Risk & Volatility
Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.38, indicating that its stock price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Krystal Biotech has a beta of 0.5, indicating that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Krystal Biotech beats Ionis Pharmaceuticals on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Ionis Pharmaceuticals
Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy. It also develops medicines for various indications that are in phase 3 study, including Eplontersen as a monthly self-administered subcutaneous injection to treat all types of ATTR; Olezarsen for patients with FCS and severe hypertriglyceridemia (SHTG); Donidalorsen for patients with hereditary angioedema; ION363 for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Tofersen to inhibit the production of superoxide dismutase 1; Pelacarsen for patients with established cardiovascular disease and elevated lipoprotein(a); and Bepirovirsen to inhibit the production of viral proteins associated with hepatitis B virus. In addition, the company develops IONIS-FB-LRx to inhibit the production of complement factor B and the alternative complement pathway; and ION224 to reduce the production of diacylglycerol acyltransferase 2. It has a strategic collaboration with Biogen for the treatment of neurological disorders; and collaboration and license agreement with Metagenomi, Inc, AstraZeneca, Bayer AG, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Novartis, Roche, Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB, and PTC Therapeutics. The company was incorporated in 1989 and is based in Carlsbad, California.
About Krystal Biotech
Krystal Biotech, Inc., a commercial-stage biotechnology company, discovers, develops, and commercializes genetic medicines for patients with rare diseases in the United States. It commercializes VYJUVEK (beremagene geperpavec-svdt, or B-VEC) for the treatment of dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (DEB). The company also develops KB105, which is in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for treating patients with deficient autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis; KB104 for treating netherton syndrome; KB407 that is in Phase 1 clinical trials for treating cystic fibrosis; KB707 that is in Phase 1 clinical trials for the treatment of anti-PD-1 relapsed/refractory; KB408, which is in Phase 1 clinical trials for treating Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency; and KB301 that is in Phase 2 clinical trials for treating aesthetic skin conditions, as well as in open label study with ophthalmic B-VEC for treating for ocular complications of deb. Krystal Biotech, Inc. was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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