Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX – Get Free Report) and Clearside Biomedical (NASDAQ:CLSD – Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
58.9% of Ardelyx shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.8% of Clearside Biomedical shares are held by institutional investors. 4.8% of Ardelyx shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.2% of Clearside Biomedical shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Ardelyx and Clearside Biomedical, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Ardelyx | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 3.00 |
| Clearside Biomedical | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3.00 |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Ardelyx and Clearside Biomedical”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Ardelyx | $333.61 million | 2.59 | -$39.14 million | ($0.22) | -16.41 |
| Clearside Biomedical | $1.66 million | 36.98 | -$34.35 million | ($0.41) | -1.93 |
Clearside Biomedical has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ardelyx. Ardelyx is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Clearside Biomedical, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Ardelyx and Clearside Biomedical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Ardelyx | -14.86% | -34.45% | -13.81% |
| Clearside Biomedical | -818.57% | N/A | -114.23% |
Volatility and Risk
Ardelyx has a beta of 0.59, meaning that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Clearside Biomedical has a beta of 2.06, meaning that its stock price is 106% more volatile than the S&P 500.
About Ardelyx
Ardelyx, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines to treat gastrointestinal and cardiorenal therapeutic areas in the United States and internationally. The company’s lead product candidate is tenapanor for the treatment of patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation. It also develops XPHOZAH, which is in Phase III clinical trial to reduce serum phosphorus in adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD)on dialysis, or hyperphosphatemia; RDX013, a potassium secretagogue, for the treatment of elevated serum potassium, or hyperkalemia, a problem among patients with kidney and/or heart failure; and RDX020, for adult patients with metabolic acidosis, a serious electrolyte disorder. The company has agreements with Kyowa Kirin, Fosun Pharmaceutical Industrial Development Co. Ltd., and Knight Therapeutics, Inc. for the development and commercialization of tenapanor in their respective territories. The company was formerly known as Nteryx, Inc. and changed its name to Ardelyx, Inc. in June 2008. Ardelyx, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.
About Clearside Biomedical
Clearside Biomedical, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the revolutionizing the delivery of therapies to the back of the eye through the suprachoroidal space. It offers XIPERE, a triamcinolone acetonide suprachoroidal injectable suspension for the treatment of uveitis macular edema. It also develops CLS-AX, an axitinib injectable suspension for suprachoroidal injection, which is in Phase IIb clinical trial to treat wet AMD. The company has a collaboration with Bausch Health, Arctic Vision, REGENXBIO, Inc., BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Aura Biosciences. Clearside Biomedical, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia.
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