Critical Review: Acura Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:ACUR) versus BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:BMRN)

BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:BMRN) and Acura Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:ACUR) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

BioMarin Pharmaceutical has a beta of 0.29, suggesting that its share price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acura Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 2.1, suggesting that its share price is 110% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares BioMarin Pharmaceutical and Acura Pharmaceuticals”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BioMarin Pharmaceutical	$2.42 billion	4.90	$167.65 million	$1.67	37.24
Acura Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

BioMarin Pharmaceutical has higher revenue and earnings than Acura Pharmaceuticals.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

98.7% of BioMarin Pharmaceutical shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.9% of BioMarin Pharmaceutical shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 20.2% of Acura Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for BioMarin Pharmaceutical and Acura Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BioMarin Pharmaceutical	0	7	15	1	2.74
Acura Pharmaceuticals	0	0	0	0	0.00

BioMarin Pharmaceutical presently has a consensus target price of $94.20, suggesting a potential upside of 51.47%. Given BioMarin Pharmaceutical’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe BioMarin Pharmaceutical is more favorable than Acura Pharmaceuticals.

Profitability

This table compares BioMarin Pharmaceutical and Acura Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BioMarin Pharmaceutical	11.71%	8.53%	6.40%
Acura Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

BioMarin Pharmaceutical beats Acura Pharmaceuticals on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BioMarin Pharmaceutical

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. develops and commercializes therapies for people with serious and life-threatening rare diseases and medical conditions. Its commercial products include Vimizim, an enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) IV type A, a lysosomal storage disorder; Naglazyme, a recombinant form of N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfatase for patients with MPS VI; and Kuvan, a proprietary synthetic oral form of 6R-BH4 that is used to treat patients with phenylketonuria (PKU), an inherited metabolic disease. The company's commercial products also comprise Palynziq, a PEGylated recombinant phenylalanine ammonia lyase enzyme, which is delivered through subcutaneous injection to reduce blood Phe concentrations; Brineura, a recombinant human tripeptidyl peptidase 1 for the treatment of patients with ceroid lipofuscinosis type 2, a form of Batten disease; Voxzogo, a once daily injection analog of c-type natriuretic peptide for the treatment of achondroplasia; and Aldurazyme, a purified protein designed to be identical to a naturally occurring form of the human enzyme alpha-L-iduronidase. In addition, it develops Roctavian, an adeno associated virus vector, for the treatment of patients with severe hemophilia A. The company serves specialty pharmacies, hospitals, and non-U.S. government agencies, as well as distributors and pharmaceutical wholesalers in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and internationally. BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. has license and collaboration agreements with Sarepta Therapeutics, Ares Trading S.A., Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in San Rafael, California.

About Acura Pharmaceuticals

Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an innovative drug delivery company, engages in the research, development, and commercialization of technologies and products to address safe use of medications in the United States. It offers Oxaydo tablets, a Schedule II narcotic indicated for the management of acute and chronic moderate to severe pain; and Nexafed products, which are pseudoephedrine and acetaminophen tablets that are used as nasal decongestants in various non-prescription and prescription cold, sinus, and allergy products. Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has collaboration and license agreements with Egalet US, Inc. and Egalet Ltd. to manufacture and commercialize Oxaydo products worldwide; and development and commercialization agreement with Abuse Deterrent Pharma, LLC to develop LTX-03, an immediate-release tablets utilizing LIMITx technology. The company was formerly known as Halsey Drug Co., Inc. The company was incorporated in 1935 and is based in Palatine, Illinois. Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Abuse Deterrent Pharma, LLC.