Comparing Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) & Emisphere Technologies (OTCMKTS:EMIS)

Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) and Emisphere Technologies (OTCMKTS:EMIS) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, valuation, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Xenon Pharmaceuticals and Emisphere Technologies”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Xenon Pharmaceuticals	$9.43 million	325.81	-$182.39 million	($2.71)	-15.02
Emisphere Technologies	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Emisphere Technologies has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Xenon Pharmaceuticals.

Profitability

This table compares Xenon Pharmaceuticals and Emisphere Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Xenon Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-24.16%	-23.15%
Emisphere Technologies	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

95.4% of Xenon Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.5% of Xenon Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 72.9% of Emisphere Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Xenon Pharmaceuticals and Emisphere Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Xenon Pharmaceuticals	0	0	11	1	3.08
Emisphere Technologies	0	0	0	0	N/A

Xenon Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus target price of $57.45, suggesting a potential upside of 41.13%. Given Xenon Pharmaceuticals’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Xenon Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Emisphere Technologies.

Summary

Xenon Pharmaceuticals beats Emisphere Technologies on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc., a neuroscience-focused biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of therapeutics to treat patients with neurological disorders in Canada. Its clinical development pipeline includes XEN1101, a novel and potent Kv7 potassium channel opener, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders. The company has a license and collaboration agreement with the Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. for the development of NBI-921352, a selective Nav1.6 sodium channel inhibitor that is in Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of SCN8A developmental and epileptic encephalopathy, and other indications, including adult focal epilepsy. Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Burnaby, Canada.

About Emisphere Technologies

Emisphere Technologies, Inc. operates as a commercial stage pharmaceutical and drug delivery company in the United States. The company offers oral Eligen B12 Rx, an oral formulation prescription medical food for use by B12 deficient individuals. It is also developing GLP-1, which is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and related conditions. The company's preclinical programs focus on the development of oral formulations for the treatment of diabetes; and products in the areas of cardiovascular, appetite suppression, and pain, as well as in the development and expansion of nutritional supplement products. It has license agreements with Novo Nordisk A/S to develop and commercialize oral formulations of GLP-1 receptor agonists in combination with Emisphere carriers, as well as to develop and commercialize oral formulations of Novo Nordisk's insulin using the company's Eligen Technology. The company was formerly known as Clinical Technologies Associates, Inc. and changed its name to Emisphere Technologies, Inc. in 1991. Emisphere Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is based in Roseland, New Jersey.