Fennec Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:FENC – Get Rating) and Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL – Get Rating) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
43.3% of Fennec Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 31.2% of Anavex Life Sciences shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.7% of Fennec Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.0% of Anavex Life Sciences shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Fennec Pharmaceuticals and Anavex Life Sciences’ revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Fennec Pharmaceuticals | $1.53 million | 132.91 | -$23.71 million | ($0.90) | -8.56 |
| Anavex Life Sciences | N/A | N/A | -$47.98 million | ($0.65) | -12.35 |
Profitability
This table compares Fennec Pharmaceuticals and Anavex Life Sciences’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Fennec Pharmaceuticals | N/A | -445.38% | -103.02% |
| Anavex Life Sciences | N/A | -34.50% | -32.22% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Fennec Pharmaceuticals and Anavex Life Sciences, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Fennec Pharmaceuticals | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Anavex Life Sciences | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.75 |
Fennec Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus target price of $15.50, suggesting a potential upside of 101.30%. Anavex Life Sciences has a consensus target price of $42.60, suggesting a potential upside of 430.51%. Given Anavex Life Sciences’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Anavex Life Sciences is more favorable than Fennec Pharmaceuticals.
Risk and Volatility
Fennec Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.16, meaning that its stock price is 84% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Anavex Life Sciences has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.
About Fennec Pharmaceuticals
Fennec Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, develops product candidates for use in the treatment of cancer in the United States. Its lead product candidate is the Sodium Thiosulfate, which has completed the Phase III clinical trial for the prevention of cisplatin induced hearing loss or ototoxicity in children. The company was formerly known as Adherex Technologies Inc. and changed its name to Fennec Pharmaceuticals Inc. in September 2014. Fennec Pharmaceuticals Inc. was founded in 1996 and is based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
About Anavex Life Sciences
Anavex Life Sciences Corp. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, which engages in the development of different therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases. Its lead compound, ANAVEX2-73, is being developed to treat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease and central nervous system diseases, including Rett syndrome. The company was founded by Harvey Lalach and Athanasios Skarpelos on January 23, 2004 and is headquartered in New York, NY.
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