Lexaria Bioscience (NASDAQ:LEXX) vs. Xeris Biopharma (NASDAQ:XERS) Critical Analysis

Lexaria Bioscience (NASDAQ:LEXX) and Xeris Biopharma (NASDAQ:XERS) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lexaria Bioscience	$230,000.00	235.78	-$6.66 million	($0.44)	-7.80
Xeris Biopharma	$163.91 million	2.62	-$62.26 million	($0.47)	-6.13

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

13.1% of Lexaria Bioscience shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.8% of Xeris Biopharma shares are held by institutional investors. 7.6% of Lexaria Bioscience 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, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Lexaria Bioscience and Xeris Biopharma’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lexaria Bioscience	N/A	-88.39%	-84.05%
Xeris Biopharma	-32.83%	-16,662.63%	-18.07%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Lexaria Bioscience and Xeris Biopharma, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lexaria Bioscience	0	0	2	0	3.00
Xeris Biopharma	0	0	3	0	3.00

Lexaria Bioscience presently has a consensus target price of $11.00, suggesting a potential upside of 220.70%. Xeris Biopharma has a consensus target price of $4.67, suggesting a potential upside of 62.04%. Given Lexaria Bioscience’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Lexaria Bioscience is more favorable than Xeris Biopharma.

Risk and Volatility

Lexaria Bioscience has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Xeris Biopharma has a beta of 2.76, meaning that its share price is 176% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Lexaria Bioscience beats Xeris Biopharma on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lexaria Bioscience

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. operates as a biotechnology company. It develops and out-licenses its patented drug delivery technology, DehydraTECH, which combines lipophilic molecules or active pharmaceutical ingredients with specific long-chain fatty acids and carrier compounds that improve the way they enter the bloodstream, increasing their effectiveness and allowing for lower overall dosing while promoting healthier oral ingestion methods. The company's DehydraTECH is used with a range of active molecules encompassing fat-soluble vitamins, pain medications, hormones, PDE5 inhibitors, antivirals, oral nicotine and its analogs, and cannabinoids. Its DehydraTECH technology evaluates therapeutic indications, including hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes; and is suitable for a variety of product formats, such as pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, over the counter, and consumer packaged goods. Lexaria Bioscience Corp. was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Kelowna, Canada.

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.