Bausch Health Cos (NYSE:BHC) vs. Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) Financial Review

Bausch Health Cos (NYSE:BHC) and Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) are both medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

78.7% of Bausch Health Cos shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.9% of Assembly Biosciences shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.0% of Bausch Health Cos shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.3% of Assembly Biosciences shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Bausch Health Cos has a beta of 0.48, meaning that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Assembly Biosciences 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 for Bausch Health Cos and Assembly Biosciences, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bausch Health Cos	0	3	0	0	2.00
Assembly Biosciences	0	1	5	0	2.83

Bausch Health Cos presently has a consensus target price of $9.00, indicating a potential upside of 39.41%. Assembly Biosciences has a consensus target price of $41.25, indicating a potential upside of 61.57%. Given Assembly Biosciences’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Assembly Biosciences is more favorable than Bausch Health Cos.

Profitability

This table compares Bausch Health Cos and Assembly Biosciences’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bausch Health Cos	0.99%	-852.36%	5.25%
Assembly Biosciences	-117.20%	-149.01%	-39.04%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Bausch Health Cos and Assembly Biosciences”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bausch Health Cos	$9.63 billion	0.25	-$46.00 million	$0.26	24.83
Assembly Biosciences	$28.52 million	6.87	-$40.18 million	($5.58)	-4.58

Assembly Biosciences has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Bausch Health Cos. Assembly Biosciences is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bausch Health Cos, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About Bausch Health Cos

Bausch Health Companies Inc. operates as a diversified specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company in the United States and internationally. It develops, manufactures, and markets a range of products primarily in gastroenterology, hepatology, neurology, dermatology, international pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter (OTC) products, aesthetic medical devices, and eye health. The company operates through five segments: Salix, International, Solta Medical, Diversified, and Bausch + Lomb. The Salix segment provides gastroenterology products in the United States. The International segment sells aesthetic medical devices, branded pharmaceuticals, generic pharmaceuticals, and OTC products internationally. The Solta Medical segment engages in the sale of aesthetic medical devices. The Diversified segment offers pharmaceutical products in the areas of neurology and certain other therapeutic classes; generic products; ortho dermatologic; and dentistry products in the United States. The Bausch + Lomb segment offers products in the areas of vision care, surgical, and ophthalmic pharmaceuticals products. The company was formerly known as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. and changed its name to Bausch Health Companies Inc. in July 2018. Bausch Health Companies Inc. is headquartered in Laval, Canada.

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.