Lumos Pharma (NASDAQ:LUMO – Get Free Report) and Xeris Biopharma (NASDAQ:XERS – Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Lumos Pharma and Xeris Biopharma, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Lumos Pharma | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Xeris Biopharma | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3.00 |
Lumos Pharma currently has a consensus price target of $18.00, indicating a potential upside of 1,124.49%. Xeris Biopharma has a consensus price target of $4.63, indicating a potential upside of 88.78%. Given Lumos Pharma’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Lumos Pharma is more favorable than Xeris Biopharma.
Profitability
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Lumos Pharma | -2,434.69% | -119.87% | -85.93% |
| Xeris Biopharma | -37.58% | -16,662.63% | -19.58% |
Risk and Volatility
Lumos Pharma has a beta of 0.72, meaning that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Xeris Biopharma has a beta of 2.72, meaning that its stock price is 172% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
34.0% of Lumos Pharma shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.8% of Xeris Biopharma shares are held by institutional investors. 25.4% of Lumos Pharma shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of Xeris Biopharma shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Lumos Pharma and Xeris Biopharma’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Lumos Pharma | $2.05 million | 5.82 | -$34.03 million | ($4.59) | -0.32 |
| Xeris Biopharma | $163.91 million | 2.22 | -$62.26 million | ($0.47) | -5.21 |
Lumos Pharma has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Xeris Biopharma. Xeris Biopharma is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lumos Pharma, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Xeris Biopharma beats Lumos Pharma on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Lumos Pharma
Lumos Pharma, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the identification, acquisition, development, and commercialization of products and therapies for people with rare diseases. Its primary product candidate is LUM-201, an oral growth hormone secretagogue ibutamoren, which is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of idiopathic pediatric growth hormone deficiency and other rare endocrine disorders. The company has a clinical collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital to evaluate oral LUM-201 in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Lumos Pharma, Inc. is headquartered in Austin, Texas.
About Xeris Biopharma
Xeris Biopharma Holdings, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies in Illinois. The company offers Gvoke, a ready-to-use liquid-stable glucagon for the treatment of severe hypoglycemia pediatric and adult patients; Keveyis, a therapy for the treatment of hyperkalemic, hypokalemic, and related variants of primary periodic paralysis; and Recorlev, a cortisol synthesis inhibitor proved for the treatment of endogenous hypercortisolemia in adult patients with Cushing's syndrome. It is also developing XP-8121, a once-weekly subcutaneous injection of levothyroxine that is in phase I clinical trial for the treatment of hypothyroidism; and non-aqueous XeriSol and XeriJect technologies for various therapies. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
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