Comparing Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (LXRX) & The Competition

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX) is one of 843 public companies in the “Biotechnology” industry, but how does it compare to its rivals? We will compare Lexicon Pharmaceuticals to similar businesses based on the strength of its dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Lexicon Pharmaceuticals and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals	-161.80%	-35.76%	-24.53%
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Competitors	-12,319.70%	-407.93%	-30.95%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Lexicon Pharmaceuticals and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals	1	1	3	0	2.40
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Competitors	9903	15310	45655	1602	2.54

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus price target of $5.80, suggesting a potential upside of 224.02%. As a group, “Biotechnology” companies have a potential upside of 126.24%. Given Lexicon Pharmaceuticals’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Lexicon Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than its rivals.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

74.7% of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.8% of shares of all “Biotechnology” companies are held by institutional investors. 14.0% of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.1% of shares of all “Biotechnology” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.1, meaning that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals’ rivals have a beta of -1.88, meaning that their average share price is 288% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Lexicon Pharmaceuticals and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals	$49.80 million	-$50.34 million	-12.79
Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Competitors	$728.85 million	$11.28 million	-18.80

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals’ rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Lexicon Pharmaceuticals. Lexicon Pharmaceuticals is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals beats its rivals on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company based in The Woodlands, Texas. Founded in 1995 as Lexicon Genetics, the company uses drug discovery and development research to create medicines for serious diseases, with a focus on areas of unmet medical need. Its commercial product, Inpefa (sotagliflozin), is approved in the United States to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death and worsening heart failure in adults with heart failure. Lexicon also develops investigational medicines, including candidates studied for neuropathic pain and other conditions.