Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI) versus Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) Head-To-Head Analysis

Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DNLI) and Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Denali Therapeutics and Anavex Life Sciences’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Denali Therapeutics	-37.42%	-12.81%	-9.50%
Anavex Life Sciences	N/A	-36.28%	-33.43%

Volatility & Risk

Denali Therapeutics has a beta of 1.27, meaning that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Anavex Life Sciences has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Denali Therapeutics and Anavex Life Sciences, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Denali Therapeutics	0	0	13	0	3.00
Anavex Life Sciences	0	1	2	0	2.67

Denali Therapeutics currently has a consensus target price of $54.17, indicating a potential upside of 119.30%. Anavex Life Sciences has a consensus target price of $43.25, indicating a potential upside of 453.78%. Given Anavex Life Sciences’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Anavex Life Sciences is more favorable than Denali Therapeutics.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Denali Therapeutics and Anavex Life Sciences’ gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Denali Therapeutics	$108.46 million	31.30	-$325.99 million	($1.09)	-22.66
Anavex Life Sciences	N/A	N/A	-$47.98 million	($0.66)	-11.83

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

78.0% of Denali Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.8% of Anavex Life Sciences shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.9% of Denali Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.6% of Anavex Life Sciences shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Denali Therapeutics beats Anavex Life Sciences on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Denali Therapeutics

Denali Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, discovers and develops therapeutic candidates for neurodegenerative and lysosomal diseases in the United States and internationally. It offers leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) inhibitor product candidate, including BIIB122/DNL151, a small molecule inhibitor, which is in phase I and phase Ib clinical trials for the treatment of Parkinson's disease; TAK-594/DNL593, which is in Phase I/II clinical trials for the treatment of frontotemporal dementia-granulin; TAK-920/DNL919, which is in Phase I clinical trials for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The company also develops DNL310 that is in Phase I/II clinical trials for the treatment of hunter syndrome; DNL343, which is in phase 1 clinical trial the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); SAR443820/DNL788, which is in phase II clinical trial for the treatment of ALS, multiple sclerosis (MS), and Alzheimer's disease; and SAR443122/DNL758, which is in phase II clinical trial for the treatment of cutaneous lupus erythematosus. It has collaboration agreements with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, Genentech, Inc., Sanofi, F-star Gamma Limited, F-star Biotechnologische Forschungs-Und Entwicklungsges M.B.H, F-star Biotechnology Limited, Genzyme Corporation, and Centogene. The company was formerly known as SPR Pharma Inc. and changed its name to Denali Therapeutics Inc. in March 2015. Denali Therapeutics Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.

About Anavex Life Sciences

Anavex Life Sciences Corp., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of drug candidates for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Its lead drug candidate is ANAVEX 2-73, which is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease; Phase III clinical trial to treat pediatric patients with Rett syndrome; Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of Parkinson's disease; and preclinical clinical trials to treat epilepsy, infantile spasms, Fragile X syndrome, Angelman syndrome, multiple sclerosis, and tuberous sclerosis complex. The company's drug candidate also comprises ANAVEX 3-71, which is in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of frontotemporal dementia; and preclinical clinical trials for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Its preclinical drug candidates include ANAVEX 1-41, a sigma-1 receptor agonist for the treatment of depression, stroke, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's diseases; ANAVEX 1066, a mixed sigma-1/sigma-2 ligand for the potential treatment of neuropathic and visceral pain; and ANAVEX 1037 to treat prostate and pancreatic cancer. The company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in New York, New York.