Critical Analysis: OKYO Pharma (NASDAQ:OKYO) vs. Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN)

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) and OKYO Pharma (NASDAQ:OKYO) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Qiagen and OKYO Pharma’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Qiagen	$1.94 billion	5.45	$341.30 million	$1.49	31.07
OKYO Pharma	N/A	N/A	-$13.27 million	N/A	N/A

Qiagen has higher revenue and earnings than OKYO Pharma.

Risk and Volatility

Qiagen has a beta of 0.4, suggesting that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, OKYO Pharma has a beta of -0.04, suggesting that its share price is 104% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

70.0% of Qiagen shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.0% of OKYO Pharma shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.0% of Qiagen shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 40.5% of OKYO Pharma shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Qiagen and OKYO Pharma’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Qiagen	3.75%	12.67%	7.89%
OKYO Pharma	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Qiagen and OKYO Pharma, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Qiagen	0	3	6	0	2.67
OKYO Pharma	0	0	1	0	3.00

Qiagen currently has a consensus price target of $51.10, suggesting a potential upside of 10.38%. OKYO Pharma has a consensus price target of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 646.19%. Given OKYO Pharma’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe OKYO Pharma is more favorable than Qiagen.

Summary

Qiagen beats OKYO Pharma on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Qiagen

QIAGEN N.V. offers sample to insight solutions that transform biological materials into molecular insights worldwide. The company provides primary sample technology consumables, such as nucleic stabilization and purification kits for primary sample materials, manual and automated processing for genotyping, gene expression, and viral and bacterial analysis, as well as silica membranes and magnetic bead technologies; secondary sample technology consumables, including kits and components for purification of nucleic acids from secondary sample materials; and instruments for nucleic acid purification and accessories. It also provides interferon-gamma release assay for TB testing, and assays for post-transplant testing and viral load monitoring; assays for prenatal testing and detection of sexually transmitted diseases and HPV, as well as assays for analysis of genomic variants, such as mutations, insertions, deletions, and fusions; and sample to insight instruments, including one-step molecular analysis of hard-to-diagnose syndromes, and integrated PCR testing. In addition, it offers PCR consumables, such as quantitative PCR, reverse transcription, and combinations kits for analysis of gene expression, genotyping and gene regulation, and running on QIAGEN instruments and technologies; human ID and forensics assay consumables, including STR assays for human ID, and assays for food contamination; PCR instruments consist of digital PCR and qPCR solutions; and developed and configured enzymes and PCR solutions. Further, the company provides predefined and custom NGS gene panels, library prep kits and components, and whole genome amplification; QIAGEN consumables and instruments, as well as bioinformatics solutions; and custom laboratory and genomic services. It serves molecular diagnostics, academia, pharmaceutical, and applied testing customers. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Venlo, the Netherlands.

About OKYO Pharma

OKYO Pharma Limited, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in developing therapeutics for patients suffering from inflammatory eye diseases and ocular pain in the United Kingdom. Its lead preclinical product candidate is OK-101, which is in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of dry eye disease. The company is also developing OK-201, a bovine adrenal medulla, lipidated-peptide preclinical analogue candidate for the treatment of neuropathic chronic pain. The company was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.