Reviewing BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) & Emisphere Technologies (OTCMKTS:EMIS)

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) and Emisphere Technologies (OTCMKTS:EMIS) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares BioCryst Pharmaceuticals and Emisphere Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals	-6.41%	N/A	-1.78%
Emisphere Technologies	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares BioCryst Pharmaceuticals and Emisphere Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals	$450.71 million	3.33	-$88.88 million	($0.18)	-39.72
Emisphere Technologies	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Emisphere Technologies has lower revenue, but higher earnings than BioCryst Pharmaceuticals.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for BioCryst Pharmaceuticals and Emisphere Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals	1	2	8	0	2.64
Emisphere Technologies	0	0	0	0	0.00

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus target price of $16.30, indicating a potential upside of 127.97%. Given BioCryst Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe BioCryst Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Emisphere Technologies.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

85.9% of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.1% of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 72.9% of Emisphere Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals beats Emisphere Technologies on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company, develops oral small-molecule and protein therapeutics to treat rare diseases. The company markets peramivir injection, an intravenous neuraminidase inhibitor for the treatment of acute uncomplicated influenza under the RAPIVAB, RAPIACTA, and PERAMIFLU names; and ORLADEYO, an oral serine protease inhibitor to treat hereditary angioedema. It is also developing BCX10013, an oral factor D inhibitor for complement-mediated diseases. The company has collaborations and in-license relationships with the Torii Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; Seqirus UK Limited; Shionogi & Co., Ltd.; Green Cross Corporation; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and The University of Alabama at Birmingham, as well as Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Industrial Research, Ltd. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina.

About Emisphere Technologies

Emisphere Technologies, Inc. operates as a commercial stage pharmaceutical and drug delivery company in the United States. The company offers oral Eligen B12 Rx, an oral formulation prescription medical food for use by B12 deficient individuals. It is also developing GLP-1, which is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and related conditions. The company's preclinical programs focus on the development of oral formulations for the treatment of diabetes; and products in the areas of cardiovascular, appetite suppression, and pain, as well as in the development and expansion of nutritional supplement products. It has license agreements with Novo Nordisk A/S to develop and commercialize oral formulations of GLP-1 receptor agonists in combination with Emisphere carriers, as well as to develop and commercialize oral formulations of Novo Nordisk's insulin using the company's Eligen Technology. The company was formerly known as Clinical Technologies Associates, Inc. and changed its name to Emisphere Technologies, Inc. in 1991. Emisphere Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is based in Roseland, New Jersey.