Reviewing Heron Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HRTX) and China SXT Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SXTC)

Heron Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HRTX) and China SXT Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SXTC) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Heron Therapeutics and China SXT Pharmaceuticals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Heron Therapeutics	1	1	2	0	2.25
China SXT Pharmaceuticals	1	0	0	0	1.00

Heron Therapeutics presently has a consensus price target of $4.50, indicating a potential upside of 243.51%. Given Heron Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Heron Therapeutics is more favorable than China SXT Pharmaceuticals.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

80.0% of Heron Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.0% of China SXT Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.9% of Heron Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of China SXT Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Heron Therapeutics and China SXT Pharmaceuticals”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Heron Therapeutics	$144.29 million	1.66	-$13.58 million	($0.02)	-65.50
China SXT Pharmaceuticals	$1.74 million	103.36	-$3.30 million	N/A	N/A

China SXT Pharmaceuticals has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Heron Therapeutics.

Profitability

This table compares Heron Therapeutics and China SXT Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Heron Therapeutics	-0.62%	N/A	-0.40%
China SXT Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility & Risk

Heron Therapeutics has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, China SXT Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.36, indicating that its share price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Heron Therapeutics beats China SXT Pharmaceuticals on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Heron Therapeutics

Heron Therapeutics, Inc., a commercial-stage biotechnology company, focuses on enhancing the lives of patients by developing and commercializing therapeutic that enhances medical care. The company's product candidates utilize its proprietary Biochronomer, a drug delivery technology, which delivers therapeutic levels of a range of short-acting pharmacological agents over a period from days to weeks with a single administration. It offers SUSTOL (granisetron), an extended-release injection for the prevention of acute and delayed nausea and vomiting associated with moderately emetogenic chemotherapy, or anthracycline and cyclophosphamide combination chemotherapy regimens; and CINVANTI, an intravenous formulation of aprepitant, a substance P/neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist for the prevention of acute and delayed nausea and vomiting associated with highly emetogenic cancer chemotherapy, as well as nausea and vomiting associated with moderately emetogenic cancer chemotherapy. The company is also developing ZYNRELEF, a dual-acting local anesthetic that delivers a fixed-dose combination of the local anesthetic bupivacaine and a low dose of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug meloxicam; and APONVIE, an intravenous formulation of a substance P/neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist indicated for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting in adults. The company was formerly known as A.P. Pharma, Inc. and changed its name to Heron Therapeutics, Inc. in January 2014. Heron Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About China SXT Pharmaceuticals

China SXT Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of traditional Chinese medicine pieces (TCMP) in China. The company offers advanced, fine, and regular TCMP products, and raw medicinal material, such as ChenXiang, SanQiFen, HongQi, SuMu, JiangXiang, CuYanHuSuo, XiaTianWu, LuXueJing, XueJie, ChaoSuanZaoRen, HongQuMi, ChuanBeiMu, HuangShuKuiHua, WuWeiZi, DingXiang, RenShen, QingGuo, JueMingZi, and ShaRen. It provides its products under the Suxuantang, Hui Chun Tang, and Tong Ren Tang brands. The company had an end-customer base of pharmaceutical companies, chain pharmacies, and hospitals in 10 provinces and municipalities in China. China SXT Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Taizhou, China.