Comparing Emisphere Technologies (OTCMKTS:EMIS) & Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE)

Emisphere Technologies (OTCMKTS:EMIS) and Xenon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XENE) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Emisphere Technologies and Xenon Pharmaceuticals”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Emisphere Technologies	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Xenon Pharmaceuticals	$9.43 million	331.08	-$182.39 million	($2.74)	-15.04

Emisphere Technologies has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Xenon Pharmaceuticals.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Emisphere Technologies and Xenon Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Emisphere Technologies	0	0	0	0	N/A
Xenon Pharmaceuticals	0	0	11	1	3.08

Xenon Pharmaceuticals has a consensus target price of $57.45, suggesting a potential upside of 39.42%. Given Xenon Pharmaceuticals’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Xenon Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Emisphere Technologies.

Profitability

This table compares Emisphere Technologies and Xenon Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Emisphere Technologies	N/A	N/A	N/A
Xenon Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-24.16%	-23.15%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.5% of Xenon Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. 72.9% of Emisphere Technologies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of Xenon Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Xenon Pharmaceuticals beats Emisphere Technologies on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Emisphere Technologies

Emisphere Technologies, Inc. operates as a commercial stage pharmaceutical and drug delivery company in the United States. The company offers oral Eligen B12 Rx, an oral formulation prescription medical food for use by B12 deficient individuals. It is also developing GLP-1, which is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and related conditions. The company's preclinical programs focus on the development of oral formulations for the treatment of diabetes; and products in the areas of cardiovascular, appetite suppression, and pain, as well as in the development and expansion of nutritional supplement products. It has license agreements with Novo Nordisk A/S to develop and commercialize oral formulations of GLP-1 receptor agonists in combination with Emisphere carriers, as well as to develop and commercialize oral formulations of Novo Nordisk's insulin using the company's Eligen Technology. The company was formerly known as Clinical Technologies Associates, Inc. and changed its name to Emisphere Technologies, Inc. in 1991. Emisphere Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1986 and is based in Roseland, New Jersey.

About Xenon Pharmaceuticals

Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in developing therapeutics to treat patients with neurological disorders in Canada. Its clinical development pipeline includes XEN496, a Kv7 potassium channel opener that is Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of KCNQ2 developmental and epileptic encephalopathy; and XEN1101, a Kv7 potassium channel opener, which is in Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of epilepsy and other neurological disorders. The company's product candidates also comprise NBI-921352, a selective Nav1.6 sodium channel inhibitor that is in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of SCN8A developmental and epileptic encephalopathy, and other indications, including adult focal epilepsy. It has a license and collaboration agreement with the Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. to develop treatments for epilepsy. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Burnaby, Canada.