Contrasting Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) and United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR)

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) and Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) are both medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

United Therapeutics has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ardelyx has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Therapeutics	$3.18 billion	7.03	$1.33 billion	$27.09	19.46
Ardelyx	$407.32 million	3.08	-$61.60 million	($0.23)	-22.09

United Therapeutics has higher revenue and earnings than Ardelyx. Ardelyx is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than United Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

94.1% of United Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.9% of Ardelyx shares are held by institutional investors. 8.6% of United Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.3% of Ardelyx shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Therapeutics	40.62%	19.24%	17.25%
Ardelyx	-13.58%	-38.11%	-11.85%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for United Therapeutics and Ardelyx, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Therapeutics	0	2	10	0	2.83
Ardelyx	1	0	9	1	2.91

United Therapeutics currently has a consensus price target of $644.82, indicating a potential upside of 22.34%. Ardelyx has a consensus price target of $15.73, indicating a potential upside of 209.59%. Given Ardelyx’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Ardelyx is more favorable than United Therapeutics.

Summary

United Therapeutics beats Ardelyx on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation, a biotechnology company, engages in the development and commercialization of products to address the unmet medical needs of patients with chronic and life-threatening diseases in the United States and internationally. The company offers Tyvaso DPI, an inhaled dry powder via pre-filled and single-use cartridges; Tyvaso, an inhaled solution via ultrasonic nebulizer; Remodulin (treprostinil) injection to treat patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to diminish symptoms associated with exercise; Orenitram, a tablet dosage form of treprostinil, to delay disease progression and improve exercise capacity in PAH patients; and Adcirca, an oral PDE-5 inhibitor to enhance the exercise ability in PAH patients. It also markets and sells Unituxin (dinutuximab) injection, a monoclonal antibody for treating high-risk neuroblastoma; and Remunity Pump, which contains a pump and separate controller for Remodulin. In addition, the company engages in developing RemoPro and Ralinepag for the treatment of PAH; Aurora-GT, a gene therapy product to rebuild the blood vessels in the lungs; and Nebulized Tyvaso, for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, as well as xenografts, which are development-stage organ products. It has licensing and collaboration agreements with DEKA Research & Development Corp. to develop a semi-disposable system for the subcutaneous delivery of treprostinil; MannKind Corporation to develop and license treprostinil inhalation powder and the Dreamboat device; and Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop Ralinepag. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland.

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.