Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) vs. Theravance Biopharma (NASDAQ:TBPH) Critical Contrast

Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) and Theravance Biopharma (NASDAQ:TBPH) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

Nektar Therapeutics has a beta of 1.27, suggesting that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Theravance Biopharma has a beta of 0.14, suggesting that its share price is 86% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

75.9% of Nektar Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.1% of Theravance Biopharma shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.3% of Nektar Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.9% of Theravance Biopharma shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Nektar Therapeutics and Theravance Biopharma’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nektar Therapeutics	-192.87%	-456.53%	-57.80%
Theravance Biopharma	36.53%	12.20%	6.33%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Nektar Therapeutics and Theravance Biopharma, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nektar Therapeutics	1	1	6	0	2.63
Theravance Biopharma	0	2	3	2	3.00

Nektar Therapeutics presently has a consensus price target of $111.83, suggesting a potential upside of 154.89%. Theravance Biopharma has a consensus price target of $27.80, suggesting a potential upside of 48.39%. Given Nektar Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Nektar Therapeutics is more favorable than Theravance Biopharma.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Nektar Therapeutics and Theravance Biopharma”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nektar Therapeutics	$98.43 million	9.07	-$118.96 million	($7.97)	-5.51
Theravance Biopharma	$64.38 million	14.75	-$56.42 million	$0.57	32.87

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

Summary

Theravance Biopharma beats Nektar Therapeutics on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nektar Therapeutics

Nektar Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing medicines in the field of immunotherapy in the United States and internationally. The company is developing rezpegaldesleukin, a cytokine Treg stimulant that is in phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus and ulcerative colitis, as well as phase 2b clinical trial to treat atopic dermatitis and psoriasis; and NKTR-255, an IL-15 receptor agonist, which is in phase 1 clinical trial to boost the immune system's natural ability to fight cancer. It has collaboration agreements with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd.; AstraZeneca AB; UCB Pharma S.A.; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd; Bausch Health Companies Inc.; Pfizer Inc.; Amgen Inc.; UCB Pharma (Biogen); Bristol-Myers Squibb Company; Merck KGaA; and SFJ Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

About Theravance Biopharma

Theravance Biopharma, Inc. is a diversified biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of organ-selective medicines. Its purpose is to pioneer a new generation of small molecule drugs designed to better meet patient needs. Its research is focused in the areas of inflammation and immunology.
In pursuit of its purpose, Theravance Biopharma applies insights and innovation at each stage of its business and utilizes its internal capabilities and those of partners around the world. The Company applies organ-selective expertise to target disease biologically, to discover and develop medicines that may expand the therapeutic index with the goal of maximizing efficacy and limiting systemic side effects. These efforts leverage years of experience in developing lung-selective medicines to treat respiratory disease, including FDA-approved YUPELRI® (revefenacin) inhalation solution indicated for the maintenance treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Its pipeline of internally discovered programs is targeted to address significant patient needs.
Theravance Biopharma has an economic interest in potential future payments from Glaxo Group Limited or one of its affiliates (GSK) pursuant to its agreements with Innoviva, Inc. relating to certain programs, including TRELEGY.
For more information, please visit www.theravance.com.