Analyzing Mesoblast (NASDAQ:MESO) and Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) and Mesoblast (NASDAQ:MESO) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Biogen and Mesoblast, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Biogen	1	13	18	1	2.58
Mesoblast	1	0	1	0	2.00

Biogen presently has a consensus target price of $230.14, indicating a potential upside of 5.05%. Mesoblast has a consensus target price of $39.00, indicating a potential upside of 151.94%. Given Mesoblast’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Mesoblast is more favorable than Biogen.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Biogen and Mesoblast”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Biogen	$10.03 billion	3.23	$1.29 billion	$5.65	38.77
Mesoblast	$120.25 million	16.72	-$57.50 million	($0.28)	-55.29

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

Profitability

This table compares Biogen and Mesoblast’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Biogen	8.32%	11.18%	6.88%
Mesoblast	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk and Volatility

Biogen has a beta of 0.17, indicating that its stock price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mesoblast has a beta of 2.12, indicating that its stock price is 112% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

87.9% of Biogen shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.4% of Mesoblast shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Biogen shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 18.8% of Mesoblast shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Biogen beats Mesoblast on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Biogen

Biogen Inc. discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers therapies for treating neurological and neurodegenerative diseases in the United States, Europe, Germany, Asia, and internationally. The company provides TECFIDERA, VUMERITY, AVONEX, PLEGRIDY, TYSABRI, and FAMPYRA for multiple sclerosis (MS); SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy; ADUHELM to treat Alzheimer’s disease; FUMADERM to treat plaque psoriasis; BENEPALI, an etanercept biosimilar referencing ENBREL; IMRALDI, an adalimumab biosimilar referencing HUMIRA; FLIXABI, an infliximab biosimilar referencing REMICADE; and BYOOVIZ, a ranibizumab biosimilar referencing LUCENTIS. It offers RITUXAN for treating non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), rheumatoid arthritis, two forms of ANCA-associated vasculitis, and pemphigus vulgaris; RITUXAN HYCELA for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and CLL; GAZYVA to treat CLL and follicular lymphoma; OCREVUS for relapsing MS and primary progressive MS; LUNSUMIO to treat relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma; glofitamab for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma; and other anti-CD20 therapies. In addition, the company is developing various products for the treatment of MS, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, neuromuscular disorders, Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders, neuropsychiatry, genetic neurodevelopmental disorders, and biosimilars, which are under various stages of development. It has collaboration and license agreements with Acorda Therapeutics, Inc.; Alkermes Pharma Ireland Limited; Denali Therapeutics Inc.; Eisai Co., Ltd.; Genentech, Inc.; Neurimmune SubOne AG; Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd.; Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc.; and Sage Therapeutics, Inc., as well as collaboration with Fujirebio to potentially identify and develop blood-based biomarkers for tau pathology in the brain. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

About Mesoblast

Mesoblast Limited engages in the development of regenerative medicine products in Australia, the United States, Singapore, and Switzerland. The company offers products in the areas of cardiovascular, spine orthopedic disorder, oncology, hematology, and immune-mediated and inflammatory diseases. Its proprietary regenerative medicine technology platform is based on specialized cells known as mesenchymal lineage cells. The company offers Remestemcel-L that is in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of systemic inflammatory diseases, including steroid refractory acute graft versus host disease, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and biologic refractory inflammatory bowel disease; and Remestemcel-L, which is in Phase III clinical trials to treat chronic heart failure and chronic low back pain due to degenerative disc disease. It is also developing MPC-300-IV to treat biologic refractory rheumatoid arthritis diabetic nephropathy; and MPC-25-IC for the treatment or prevention of acute myocardial infarction. It has strategic partnerships with Tasly Pharmaceutical Group to offer MPC-150-IM for heart failure and MPC-25-IC for heart attacks in China; JCR Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. to treat wound healing in patients with epidermolysis bullosa; and Grünenthal to develops and commercializes cell therapy for the treatment of chronic low back pain. The company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.