Critical Contrast: Cumberland Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPIX) vs. Xeris Biopharma (NASDAQ:XERS)

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPIX) 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 valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings and institutional ownership.

Volatility & Risk

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.09, indicating that its share price is 91% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Xeris Biopharma has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

15.5% of Cumberland Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.7% of Xeris Biopharma shares are owned by institutional investors. 42.1% of Cumberland Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Xeris Biopharma shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Cumberland Pharmaceuticals and Xeris Biopharma”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cumberland Pharmaceuticals	$44.52 million	1.97	-$2.84 million	($0.49)	-11.97
Xeris Biopharma	$291.85 million	4.91	$550,000.00	$0.06	138.40

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Cumberland Pharmaceuticals and Xeris Biopharma, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cumberland Pharmaceuticals	1	0	0	0	1.00
Xeris Biopharma	1	2	4	0	2.43

Xeris Biopharma has a consensus price target of $10.80, indicating a potential upside of 30.06%. Given Xeris Biopharma’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Xeris Biopharma is more favorable than Cumberland Pharmaceuticals.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cumberland Pharmaceuticals	-17.60%	-12.01%	-4.24%
Xeris Biopharma	3.81%	735.00%	3.24%

Summary

Xeris Biopharma beats Cumberland Pharmaceuticals on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cumberland Pharmaceuticals

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, focuses on the acquisition, development, and commercialization of prescription products for hospital acute care, gastroenterology, and oncology in the United States and internationally. The company offers Acetadote, an injection for the treatment of acetaminophen poisoning; Caldolor, an injection for the treatment of pain and fever; Kristalose, a prescription laxative oral solution for the treatment of constipation; Omeclamox-Pak for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection and duodenal ulcer disease; Vaprisol, an injection for treating euvolemic and hypervolemic hyponatremia; Sancuso, an injection for the treatment of chemotherapy treatment; and Vibativ, an injection for the treatment of certain serious bacterial infections, including hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia, as well as complicated skin and skin structure infections. It develops RediTrex injection for the treatment of active rheumatoid, juvenile idiopathic, and severe psoriatic arthritis, as well as disabling psoriasis. In addition, the company is developing ifetroban, a product candidate that is in phase II clinical trial for the treatment of aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease, systemic sclerosis, and duchenne muscular dystrophy; and has completed phase II clinical trial for the treatment of hepatorenal syndrome and portal hypertension. Further, it develops a clinical program for the use of ifetroban to treat progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.

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.