Head-To-Head Review: NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ:NB) and Lexaria Bioscience (OTCMKTS:LXRP)

Lexaria Bioscience (OTCMKTS:LXRP) and NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ:NB) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, risk, earnings and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.1% of Lexaria Bioscience shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.0% of NioCorp Developments shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.1% of NioCorp Developments 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Lexaria Bioscience and NioCorp Developments”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lexaria Bioscience	$380,000.00	0.00	-$4.09 million	N/A	N/A
NioCorp Developments	N/A	N/A	-$11.44 million	($0.78)	-3.65

Lexaria Bioscience has higher revenue and earnings than NioCorp Developments.

Profitability

This table compares Lexaria Bioscience and NioCorp Developments’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lexaria Bioscience	-1,046.77%	-157.62%	-148.09%
NioCorp Developments	N/A	-1,273.17%	-140.97%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Lexaria Bioscience and NioCorp Developments, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lexaria Bioscience	0	0	0	0	0.00
NioCorp Developments	0	0	2	0	3.00

NioCorp Developments has a consensus target price of $4.13, indicating a potential upside of 44.74%. Given NioCorp Developments’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe NioCorp Developments is more favorable than Lexaria Bioscience.

Summary

NioCorp Developments beats Lexaria Bioscience on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lexaria Bioscience

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. operates in the drug delivery platform business. It develops and out-licenses its DehydraTECH technology for the delivery of bioactive compounds that promotes healthy ingestion methods, lower overall dosing, and higher effectiveness in active molecule delivery. The company has licensed DehydraTECH to various companies operating in the nicotine, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and vitamin industries. Lexaria Bioscience Corp. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Kelowna, Canada.

About NioCorp Developments

NioCorp Developments Ltd. engages in the exploration and development of mineral deposits in North America. It owns and develops the Elk Creek niobium/scandium/titanium project that owns one 226.43-acre parcel of land and associated mineral rights, and an additional 40 acres of mineral rights, as well as an optioned land package that covers an area of 1,396 acres located in Johnson County, southeast Nebraska. The company was formerly known as Quantum Rare Earth Developments Corp. and changed its name to NioCorp Developments Ltd. in March 2013. NioCorp Developments Ltd. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Centennial, Colorado.