Head to Head Contrast: Opus Genetics (NASDAQ:IRD) versus Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS)

Opus Genetics (NASDAQ:IRD) and Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

15.0% of Opus Genetics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.2% of Alkermes shares are held by institutional investors. 11.7% of Opus Genetics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of Alkermes shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Opus Genetics has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alkermes has a beta of 0.32, indicating that its stock price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Opus Genetics and Alkermes, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Opus Genetics	1	1	16	1	2.89
Alkermes	1	5	11	1	2.67

Opus Genetics currently has a consensus target price of $12.71, indicating a potential upside of 246.44%. Alkermes has a consensus target price of $54.38, indicating a potential upside of 19.93%. Given Opus Genetics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Opus Genetics is more favorable than Alkermes.

Profitability

This table compares Opus Genetics and Alkermes’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Opus Genetics	-1,091.82%	N/A	-150.13%
Alkermes	3.96%	4.15%	2.19%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Opus Genetics and Alkermes”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Opus Genetics	$14.20 million	21.36	-$49.59 million	($1.35)	-2.72
Alkermes	$1.48 billion	5.15	$241.66 million	$0.38	119.32

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

Summary

Alkermes beats Opus Genetics on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Opus Genetics

Opus Genetics Inc. is a clinical-stage ophthalmic biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies for the treatment of unmet needs of patients with refractive and retinal eye disorders. Opus Genetics Inc., formerly known as Ocuphire Pharma Inc., is based in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

About Alkermes

Alkermes plc, a biopharmaceutical company, researches, develops, and commercializes pharmaceutical products to address unmet medical needs of patients in therapeutic areas in the United States, Ireland, and internationally. It has a portfolio of proprietary commercial products for the treatment of alcohol dependence, opioid dependence, schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder and a pipeline of clinical and preclinical product candidates in development for neurological disorders. Its marketed products include ARISTADA, an intramuscular injectable suspension for the treatment of schizophrenia; ARISTADA INITIO for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults; VIVITROL for the treatment of alcohol and prevention of opioid dependence; and LYBALVI, an oral atypical antipsychotic drug candidate for the treatment of adults with schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder. It has collaboration agreements primarily with Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V., Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc, and Janssen Pharmaceutica International. The company also offers proprietary technology platforms to third parties to enable them to develop, commercialize, and manufacture products. Alkermes plc was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.