Analyzing TherapeuticsMD (NASDAQ:TXMD) and Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GALT)

Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GALT) and TherapeuticsMD (NASDAQ:TXMD) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Galectin Therapeutics and TherapeuticsMD’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Galectin Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-268.71%
TherapeuticsMD	10.80%	0.27%	0.19%

Risk and Volatility

Galectin Therapeutics has a beta of 1, indicating that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, TherapeuticsMD has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

11.7% of Galectin Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.7% of TherapeuticsMD shares are held by institutional investors. 52.6% of Galectin Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of TherapeuticsMD shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Galectin Therapeutics and TherapeuticsMD, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Galectin Therapeutics	1	0	1	0	2.00
TherapeuticsMD	0	1	0	0	2.00

Galectin Therapeutics currently has a consensus target price of $11.00, suggesting a potential upside of 270.37%. Given Galectin Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Galectin Therapeutics is more favorable than TherapeuticsMD.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Galectin Therapeutics and TherapeuticsMD”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Galectin Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$47.05 million	($0.59)	-5.03
TherapeuticsMD	$1.76 million	15.12	-$2.18 million	($0.01)	-230.00

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

Summary

TherapeuticsMD beats Galectin Therapeutics on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Galectin Therapeutics

Galectin Therapeutics Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research and development of therapies for fibrotic, cancer, and other diseases. Its lead product candidate is belapectin (GR-MD-02) galectin-3 inhibitor, that is in Phase 2b/3 clinical trial, to prevent esophageal varices in patient with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) cirrhosis; and Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of liver fibrosis, as well as severe skin disease, and melanoma and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The company, through its Galectin Sciences, LLC, which is a collaborative joint venture co-owned by SBH Sciences, Inc., to research and develop small organic molecule inhibitors of galectin-3 for oral administration. The company was formerly known as Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed its name to Galectin Therapeutics, Inc. in May 2011. Galectin Therapeutics Inc. was founded in 2000 and is based in Norcross, Georgia.

About TherapeuticsMD

TherapeuticsMD, Inc. operates as a pharmaceutical royalty company in the United States. It has a license agreement with Mayne Pharma to commercialize the IMVEXXY, BIJUVA, and ANNOVERA prescription prenatal vitamin products sold under the BocaGreenMD and vitaMedMD brand names. The company sells its prescription pharmaceutical products and prenatal vitamin products through wholesale distributors and retail pharmacy distributors. TherapeuticsMD, Inc. was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.