Critical Review: Pharmaxis (OTCMKTS:PXSLY) vs. Leap Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LPTX)

Pharmaxis (OTCMKTS:PXSLY) and Leap Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LPTX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

30.5% of Leap Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 4.3% of Leap Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Pharmaxis and Leap Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pharmaxis	0	0	0	0	0.00
Leap Therapeutics	1	0	0	0	1.00

Volatility & Risk

Pharmaxis has a beta of 1.22, indicating that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Leap Therapeutics has a beta of -0.06, indicating that its share price is 106% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Pharmaxis and Leap Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pharmaxis	N/A	N/A	N/A
Leap Therapeutics	N/A	-247.44%	-146.51%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Pharmaxis and Leap Therapeutics”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pharmaxis	$8.75 million	3.03	-$9.36 million	N/A	N/A
Leap Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$67.56 million	($1.22)	-1.68

Pharmaxis has higher revenue and earnings than Leap Therapeutics.

Summary

Pharmaxis beats Leap Therapeutics on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pharmaxis

Pharmaxis Ltd engages in the research, development, and commercialization of healthcare products for the treatment of fibrotic and inflammatory diseases worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Mannitol business, and New Drug Development. It offers Bronchitol, an inhaled dry powder for the treatment of cystic fibrosis; and Aridol, an airways inflammation test that is used to identify twitchy or hyper-responsive airways, as well as to assist in diagnosing and managing asthma. The company's product pipeline consists of amine oxidase inhibitors comprising semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase for diabetic retinopathy; selective lysyl oxidase like inhibitors targeting chronic fibrotic diseases, such as NASH, pulmonary fibrosis, kidney fibrosis, and cardiac fibrosis; and pan-lysyl oxidase inhibitors targeting severe fibrotic indications, which includes cancers and scarring. It is also developing Orbital, a dry powder inhaler to deliver high drug doses to lungs. Pharmaxis Ltd was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Frenchs Forest, Australia.

About Leap Therapeutics

Leap Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, acquires and develops therapies for the treatment of cancer. Its lead clinical stage programs include DKN-01, a monoclonal antibody that inhibits Dickkopf-related protein 1, which is in multiple ongoing clinical trials for treating esophagogastric, hepatobiliary, gynecologic, and prostate cancers. Leap Therapeutics, Inc. has an option and license agreement with BeiGene, Ltd. to develop and commercialize DKN-01 in Asia (excluding Japan), Australia, and New Zealand. The company was formerly known as HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed its name to Leap Therapeutics, Inc. in November 2015. Leap Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.