Supernus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SUPN) vs. Sol-Gel Technologies (NASDAQ:SLGL) Financial Contrast

Sol-Gel Technologies (NASDAQ:SLGL) and Supernus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SUPN) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Volatility and Risk

Sol-Gel Technologies has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Supernus Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Sol-Gel Technologies and Supernus Pharmaceuticals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sol-Gel Technologies	0	0	1	0	3.00
Supernus Pharmaceuticals	0	2	1	0	2.33

Sol-Gel Technologies currently has a consensus price target of $40.00, suggesting a potential upside of 263.64%. Supernus Pharmaceuticals has a consensus price target of $36.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.21%. Given Sol-Gel Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Sol-Gel Technologies is more favorable than Supernus Pharmaceuticals.

Profitability

This table compares Sol-Gel Technologies and Supernus Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sol-Gel Technologies	-107.78%	-43.98%	-35.28%
Supernus Pharmaceuticals	9.27%	12.23%	9.17%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

26.2% of Sol-Gel Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 66.5% of Sol-Gel Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.8% of Supernus Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Sol-Gel Technologies and Supernus Pharmaceuticals”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sol-Gel Technologies	$11.54 million	2.66	-$10.58 million	($4.70)	-2.34
Supernus Pharmaceuticals	$661.82 million	2.84	$73.86 million	$1.11	30.25

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

Summary

Supernus Pharmaceuticals beats Sol-Gel Technologies on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sol-Gel Technologies

Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd., together with its subsidiary Sol-Gel Technologies Inc., develops topical dermatological drugs for patients with severe skin conditions in Israel. The company offers Twyneo, a once-daily, non-antibiotic topical cream for the treatment of acne vulgaris; and Epsolay, a once-daily topical cream for the treatment of papulopustular (subtype II) rosacea. It also develops SGT-610 that is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of Gorlin Syndrome; and SGT-210, which has completed Phase I clinical trial, to treat rare hyperkeratinization disorders, such as Darier, PC, PPK, Olmsted, etc. In addition, the company is also involved in the development of generic topical dermatological drug products. It has collaboration with Padagis Israel Pharmaceuticals Ltd; and license agreements with Galderma Holding SA and Searchlight Pharma Inc. Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Ness Ziona, Israel.

About Supernus Pharmaceuticals

Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of products for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases in the United States. The company's commercial products are Trokendi XR, an extended release topiramate product indicated for the treatment of epilepsy, as well as for the prophylaxis of migraine headache; and Oxtellar XR, an extended release oxcarbazepine for the monotherapy treatment of partial onset seizures in adults and children between 6 to 17 years of age. It also offers comprise Qelbree, a novel non-stimulant indicated for the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults and pediatric patients 6 years and older; APOKYN for the acute intermittent treatment of hypomobility or off episodes in patients with advanced Parkinson's Disease (PD); XADAGO for treating levodopa/carbidopa in patients with PD experiencing off episodes; MYOBLOC, a Type B toxin product indicated for the treatment of cervical dystonia and sialorrhea in adults; GOCOVRI for the treatment of dyskinesia in patients with PD; and Osmolex ER for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and drug-induced extrapyramidal reaction in adult patients. In addition, the company's product candidates include SPN-830, a late-stage drug/device combination product candidate for the treatment of off episodes in PD patients; SPN-817, a novel first-in-class selective acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, which is in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of epilepsy; SPN-820, a product candidate in Phase II clinical trials for treating resistant depression; SPN-443, a preclinical product for the treatment of ADHD/CNS; and SPN-446 for narcolepsy and SPN-448 for the treatment of CNS which is in discovery stage. It markets and sells its products through pharmaceutical wholesalers, specialty pharmacies, and distributors. Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland.