Analyzing PolyPid (NASDAQ:PYPD) and Minerva Neurosciences (NASDAQ:NERV)

Minerva Neurosciences (NASDAQ:NERV) and PolyPid (NASDAQ:PYPD) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Minerva Neurosciences and PolyPid”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Minerva Neurosciences	N/A	N/A	$1.44 million	($1.85)	-3.57
PolyPid	N/A	N/A	-$34.17 million	($2.26)	-1.88

Minerva Neurosciences is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than PolyPid, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

34.6% of Minerva Neurosciences shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.5% of PolyPid shares are held by institutional investors. 10.4% of Minerva Neurosciences shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 24.7% of PolyPid shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Minerva Neurosciences and PolyPid’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Minerva Neurosciences	N/A	-41.35%	-43.68%
PolyPid	N/A	-291.42%	-131.82%

Volatility & Risk

Minerva Neurosciences has a beta of -0.22, suggesting that its share price is 122% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PolyPid has a beta of 1.52, suggesting that its share price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Minerva Neurosciences and PolyPid, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Minerva Neurosciences	1	1	0	0	1.50
PolyPid	1	0	5	0	2.67

Minerva Neurosciences currently has a consensus target price of $4.00, indicating a potential downside of 39.39%. PolyPid has a consensus target price of $12.25, indicating a potential upside of 188.24%. Given PolyPid’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe PolyPid is more favorable than Minerva Neurosciences.

Summary

PolyPid beats Minerva Neurosciences on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Minerva Neurosciences

Minerva Neurosciences, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of product candidates for the treatment of central nervous system diseases. Its lead product candidate is roluperidone (MIN-101) for the treatment of negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia, currently submitted an New Drug Application (NDA); and MIN-301, a soluble recombinant form of the neuregulin-1b1 protein for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. The company has a license agreement with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation to develop, sell, and import roluperidone globally excluding Asia. Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Burlington, Massachusetts.

About PolyPid

PolyPid Ltd., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, developing targeted, locally administered, and prolonged-release therapeutics using its proprietary polymer-lipid encapsulation matrix (PLEX) technology to address unmet medical needs. Its lead product candidate is D-PLEX100, which is in a pivotal Phase 3 confirmatory trial for prevention of surgical site infections (SSIs) in patients undergoing abdominal colorectal surgery with large incisions. It is also developing OncoPLEX, for the treatment of intra-tumoral cancer. PolyPid Ltd. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Petah Tikva, Israel.