Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) & Nanobiotix (NASDAQ:NBTX) Critical Comparison

Nanobiotix (NASDAQ:NBTX) and Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

38.8% of Nanobiotix shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.9% of Ardelyx shares are held by institutional investors. 3.5% of Nanobiotix shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.3% of Ardelyx shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Nanobiotix has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ardelyx has a beta of 0.61, indicating that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Nanobiotix and Ardelyx, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nanobiotix	1	1	4	0	2.50
Ardelyx	1	0	9	1	2.91

Nanobiotix presently has a consensus target price of $37.33, suggesting a potential upside of 4.49%. Ardelyx has a consensus target price of $15.73, suggesting a potential upside of 208.98%. Given Ardelyx’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Ardelyx is more favorable than Nanobiotix.

Profitability

This table compares Nanobiotix and Ardelyx’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nanobiotix	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ardelyx	-13.58%	-38.11%	-11.85%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Nanobiotix and Ardelyx”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nanobiotix	$36.87 million	49.05	-$27.11 million	N/A	N/A
Ardelyx	$407.32 million	3.09	-$61.60 million	($0.23)	-22.13

Nanobiotix has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Ardelyx.

Summary

Ardelyx beats Nanobiotix on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nanobiotix

Nanobiotix S.A., a clinical-stage biotechnology, focuses on developing product candidates for the treatment of cancer and other unmet medical needs. Its lead product candidate is NBTXR3, a sterile aqueous suspension of crystalline hafnium oxide nanoparticles used for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma, head and neck cancers, liver cancers, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, esophageal cancer, rectal cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer. The company has a partnership with Lian Oncology Limited to develop and commercialize NBTXR3 in Greater China, South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand. Nanobiotix S.A. was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

About Ardelyx

Ardelyx, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines to treat gastrointestinal and cardiorenal therapeutic areas in the United States and internationally. The company’s lead product candidate is tenapanor for the treatment of patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation. It also develops XPHOZAH, which is in Phase III clinical trial to reduce serum phosphorus in adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD)on dialysis, or hyperphosphatemia; RDX013, a potassium secretagogue, for the treatment of elevated serum potassium, or hyperkalemia, a problem among patients with kidney and/or heart failure; and RDX020, for adult patients with metabolic acidosis, a serious electrolyte disorder. The company has agreements with Kyowa Kirin, Fosun Pharmaceutical Industrial Development Co. Ltd., and Knight Therapeutics, Inc. for the development and commercialization of tenapanor in their respective territories. The company was formerly known as Nteryx, Inc. and changed its name to Ardelyx, Inc. in June 2008. Ardelyx, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.