Critical Review: Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) versus Dare Bioscience (NASDAQ:DARE)

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

6.7% of Dare Bioscience shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.9% of Ardelyx shares are held by institutional investors. 4.1% of Dare Bioscience shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.3% of Ardelyx shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dare Bioscience	-803.80%	-748.30%	-38.75%
Ardelyx	-12.35%	-36.00%	-10.77%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Dare Bioscience and Ardelyx”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dare Bioscience	$1.03 million	13.75	-$13.40 million	($0.70)	-1.03
Ardelyx	$407.32 million	2.32	-$61.60 million	($0.22)	-17.27

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

Volatility and Risk

Dare Bioscience has a beta of 1.01, suggesting that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ardelyx has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Dare Bioscience and Ardelyx, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dare Bioscience	1	0	2	0	2.33
Ardelyx	2	0	9	1	2.75

Dare Bioscience currently has a consensus price target of $12.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1,566.67%. Ardelyx has a consensus price target of $13.90, suggesting a potential upside of 265.79%. Given Dare Bioscience’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Dare Bioscience is more favorable than Ardelyx.

Summary

Ardelyx beats Dare Bioscience on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Dare Bioscience

Daré Bioscience, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, identifies, develops, and markets products for women's health in the United States. It develops therapies in the areas of contraception, reproductive health, menopause, fertility, and sexual and vaginal health. The company offers XACIATO for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis in female patients 12 years of age and older. It is developing Ovaprene, a hormone-free, monthly intravaginal contraceptive; Sildenafil Cream, a cream formulation of sildenafil for topical administration to the female genitalia on demand for the treatment of female sexual arousal disorder; DARE-HRT1 to treat moderate to-severe vasomotor symptoms in menopausal hormone therapy; DARE-VVA1 for the treatment of moderate-to-severe dyspareunia or pain during sexual intercourse; and DARE-CIN to treat cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and other human papillomavirus related pathologies. The company is also developing DARE-PDM1 for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea; DARE-204 and DARE-214, an injectable formulations contraception of etonogestrel designed to provide contraception over 6-month and 12-month periods; DARE-FRT1, an intravaginal ring designed to deliver bio-identical progesterone for luteal phase support as part of an in vitro fertilization treatment plan; and DARE-PTB1 for the prevention of preterm birth. In addition, it is developing DARE-LARC1, a contraceptive implant delivering levonorgestrel with a woman-centered design that controlled contraceptive option; DARE-LBT, a novel hydrogel formulation for vaginal delivery of live biotherapeutics to support vaginal health; DARE-GML, a multi-target antimicrobial agent; DARE-RH1, a novel approach to non-hormonal contraception for men and women by targeting the CatSper ion channel; and DARE-PTB2 for the prevention and treatment of idiopathic preterm birth through inhibition of a stress response protein. Daré Bioscience, Inc. is headquartered in San Diego, California.

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.