Head to Head Comparison: Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) & Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA)

Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) and Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Annexon and Prothena”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Annexon	N/A	N/A	-$134.24 million	($1.05)	-2.92
Prothena	$133.35 million	5.72	-$147.03 million	($2.48)	-5.71

Annexon has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Prothena. Prothena is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Annexon, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Annexon and Prothena’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Annexon	N/A	-38.99%	-33.90%
Prothena	-98.86%	-24.19%	-20.59%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Annexon and Prothena, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Annexon	0	0	6	0	3.00
Prothena	0	2	5	0	2.71

Annexon presently has a consensus price target of $15.80, suggesting a potential upside of 414.66%. Prothena has a consensus price target of $46.50, suggesting a potential upside of 228.16%. Given Annexon’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Annexon is more favorable than Prothena.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

97.1% of Prothena shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.7% of Annexon shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 28.2% of Prothena shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Annexon has a beta of 1.07, suggesting that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Prothena has a beta of 0.08, suggesting that its stock price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Annexon beats Prothena on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Annexon

Annexon, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers and develops medicines for treating inflammatory-related diseases. Its lead candidate is ANX005, an investigational full-length monoclonal antibody, which is in Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of patients with guillain-barré syndrome; completed Phase II clinical trial for treating Huntington's disease; and in Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The company is also developing ANX007, an antigen-binding fragment (Fab) that is in Phase 3 program for the treatment of patients with geographic atrophy; and ANX1502, a novel oral small molecule inhibitor, which is in Phase 1 clinical trials for autoimmune indications. In addition, it develops ANX009, a C1q-blocking Fab that is in Phase I clinical trial for treating patients with lupus nephritis. The company was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Brisbane, California.

About Prothena

Prothena Corporation plc, a late-stage clinical biotechnology company, focuses on discovery and development of novel therapies to treat diseases caused by protein dysregulation in the United States. The company is involved in developing birtamimab, an investigational humanized antibody that is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of AL amyloidosis; Prasinezumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other related synucleinopathies which is in Phase IIb clinical trial; NNC6019 that is in Phase lI clinical trial for the treatment of ATTR amyloidosis; and BMS-986446 and PRX012, which is in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Its discovery and preclinical programs include PRX123, a dual Aß-Tau vaccine for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease; and PRX019 for the treatment of neurogenerative diseases, as well as TDP-43 for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Prothena Corporation plc has a license, development, and commercialization agreement with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. to develop and commercialize antibodies that target a-synuclein, including prasinezumab; and a collaboration agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb to develop and commercialize antibodies targeting tau, TDP-43. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.