Reviewing CorMedix (NASDAQ:CRMD) & Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX)

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) and CorMedix (NASDAQ:CRMD) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ardelyx and CorMedix”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ardelyx	$407.32 million	1.89	-$61.60 million	($0.22)	-14.05
CorMedix	$311.71 million	1.82	$163.05 million	$2.14	3.39

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

58.9% of Ardelyx shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 34.2% of CorMedix shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.3% of Ardelyx shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of CorMedix shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Ardelyx has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CorMedix has a beta of 1.4, indicating that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Ardelyx and CorMedix’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ardelyx	-12.35%	-36.00%	-10.77%
CorMedix	40.49%	40.52%	20.61%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Ardelyx and CorMedix, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ardelyx	2	0	9	1	2.75
CorMedix	0	2	7	0	2.78

Ardelyx presently has a consensus target price of $13.90, suggesting a potential upside of 349.84%. CorMedix has a consensus target price of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 106.61%. Given Ardelyx’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Ardelyx is more favorable than CorMedix.

Summary

CorMedix beats Ardelyx on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ardelyx

Ardelyx, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines to treat gastrointestinal and cardiorenal therapeutic areas in the United States and internationally. The company’s lead product candidate is tenapanor for the treatment of patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation. It also develops XPHOZAH, which is in Phase III clinical trial to reduce serum phosphorus in adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD)on dialysis, or hyperphosphatemia; RDX013, a potassium secretagogue, for the treatment of elevated serum potassium, or hyperkalemia, a problem among patients with kidney and/or heart failure; and RDX020, for adult patients with metabolic acidosis, a serious electrolyte disorder. The company has agreements with Kyowa Kirin, Fosun Pharmaceutical Industrial Development Co. Ltd., and Knight Therapeutics, Inc. for the development and commercialization of tenapanor in their respective territories. The company was formerly known as Nteryx, Inc. and changed its name to Ardelyx, Inc. in June 2008. Ardelyx, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

About CorMedix

CorMedix Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapeutic products for the prevention and treatment of infectious and inflammatory diseases in the United States. Its lead product candidate is DefenCath, an antimicrobial catheter lock solution to reduce the incidence of catheter-related bloodstream infections in adult patients with kidney failure. The company was formerly known as Picton Holding Company, Inc. and changed its name to CorMedix, Inc. in January 2007. CorMedix Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey.