Contrasting Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) and Schrödinger (NASDAQ:SDGR)

Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IONS) and Schrödinger (NASDAQ:SDGR) are both medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and risk.

Risk & Volatility

Ionis Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.39, meaning that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Schrödinger has a beta of 1.51, meaning that its share price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Schrödinger’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ionis Pharmaceuticals	-44.90%	-115.66%	-12.83%
Schrödinger	-100.42%	-38.38%	-26.66%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Schrödinger, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ionis Pharmaceuticals	1	6	12	2	2.71
Schrödinger	0	3	6	1	2.80

Ionis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus price target of $60.68, suggesting a potential upside of 41.98%. Schrödinger has a consensus price target of $33.44, suggesting a potential upside of 60.48%. Given Schrödinger’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Schrödinger is more favorable than Ionis Pharmaceuticals.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ionis Pharmaceuticals and Schrödinger”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ionis Pharmaceuticals	$813.46 million	7.67	-$366.29 million	($2.67)	-16.01
Schrödinger	$216.67 million	7.00	$40.72 million	($1.88)	-11.09

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

93.9% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.1% of Schrödinger shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of Ionis Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.6% of Schrödinger shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

About Ionis Pharmaceuticals

Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. discovers and develops RNA-targeted therapeutics in the United States. The company offers SPINRAZA for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in pediatric and adult patients; TEGSEDI, an antisense injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy caused by hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis in adults; and WAYLIVRA, an antisense medicine for treatment for familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy. It also develops medicines for various indications that are in phase 3 study, including Eplontersen as a monthly self-administered subcutaneous injection to treat all types of ATTR; Olezarsen for patients with FCS and severe hypertriglyceridemia (SHTG); Donidalorsen for patients with hereditary angioedema; ION363 for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Tofersen to inhibit the production of superoxide dismutase 1; Pelacarsen for patients with established cardiovascular disease and elevated lipoprotein(a); and Bepirovirsen to inhibit the production of viral proteins associated with hepatitis B virus. In addition, the company develops IONIS-FB-LRx to inhibit the production of complement factor B and the alternative complement pathway; and ION224 to reduce the production of diacylglycerol acyltransferase 2. It has a strategic collaboration with Biogen for the treatment of neurological disorders; and collaboration and license agreement with Metagenomi, Inc, AstraZeneca, Bayer AG, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Novartis, Roche, Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB, and PTC Therapeutics. The company was incorporated in 1989 and is based in Carlsbad, California.

About Schrödinger

Schrödinger, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops physics-based computational platform that enables discovery of novel molecules for drug development and materials applications. The company operates in two segments, Software and Drug Discovery. The Software segment is focused on licensing its software to transform molecular discovery for life sciences and materials science industries. The Drug Discovery segment focuses on building a portfolio of preclinical and clinical programs, internally and through collaborations. The company serves biopharmaceutical and industrial companies, academic institutions, and government laboratories worldwide. Schrödinger, Inc. was incorporated in 1990 and is based in New York, New York.