Heron Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HRTX) and Medicure (OTCMKTS:MCUJF) Head-To-Head Contrast

Heron Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HRTX) and Medicure (OTCMKTS:MCUJF) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

80.0% of Heron Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.9% of Heron Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.9% of Medicure shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Heron Therapeutics has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Medicure has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Heron Therapeutics and Medicure’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Heron Therapeutics	-0.62%	N/A	-0.40%
Medicure	-5.70%	-6.65%	-4.52%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Heron Therapeutics and Medicure”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Heron Therapeutics	$144.29 million	1.70	-$13.58 million	($0.02)	-67.00
Medicure	$15.99 million	0.48	-$760,000.00	($0.10)	-7.40

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Heron Therapeutics and Medicure, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Heron Therapeutics	2	0	2	0	2.00
Medicure	0	0	0	0	0.00

Heron Therapeutics currently has a consensus price target of $4.50, indicating a potential upside of 235.82%. Given Heron Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Heron Therapeutics is more favorable than Medicure.

Summary

Heron Therapeutics beats Medicure on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Heron Therapeutics

Heron Therapeutics, Inc., a commercial-stage biotechnology company, focuses on enhancing the lives of patients by developing and commercializing therapeutic that enhances medical care. The company's product candidates utilize its proprietary Biochronomer, a drug delivery technology, which delivers therapeutic levels of a range of short-acting pharmacological agents over a period from days to weeks with a single administration. It offers SUSTOL (granisetron), an extended-release injection for the prevention of acute and delayed nausea and vomiting associated with moderately emetogenic chemotherapy, or anthracycline and cyclophosphamide combination chemotherapy regimens; and CINVANTI, an intravenous formulation of aprepitant, a substance P/neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist for the prevention of acute and delayed nausea and vomiting associated with highly emetogenic cancer chemotherapy, as well as nausea and vomiting associated with moderately emetogenic cancer chemotherapy. The company is also developing ZYNRELEF, a dual-acting local anesthetic that delivers a fixed-dose combination of the local anesthetic bupivacaine and a low dose of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug meloxicam; and APONVIE, an intravenous formulation of a substance P/neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist indicated for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting in adults. The company was formerly known as A.P. Pharma, Inc. and changed its name to Heron Therapeutics, Inc. in January 2014. Heron Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About Medicure

Medicure Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, and commercialization of human therapies for the cardiovascular market. The company markets and distributes AGGRASTAT injection, a glycoprotein GP IIb/IIIa receptor antagonist for the treatment of acute coronary syndrome, including unstable angina and non-Q-wave myocardial infarction. It also offers ZYPITAMAG to treat patients with primary hyperlipidemia or mixed dyslipidemia. In addition, the company offers Sodium Nitroprusside injection for the reduction of blood pressure for adult and pediatric patients in hypertensive crisis, as well as for producing controlled hypotension to reduce bleeding during surgery, and for the treatment of acute congestive heart failure. It offers products through retail and mail order pharmacies. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada.