Insys Therapeutics (NASDAQ: INSY) and GW Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ:GWPH) are both medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitabiliy, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.
Volatility & Risk
Insys Therapeutics has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, GW Pharmaceuticals PLC has a beta of 2.67, meaning that its share price is 167% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Insys Therapeutics and GW Pharmaceuticals PLC, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Insys Therapeutics | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2.50 |
| GW Pharmaceuticals PLC | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2.88 |
Insys Therapeutics currently has a consensus target price of $12.67, indicating a potential upside of 26.41%. GW Pharmaceuticals PLC has a consensus target price of $161.71, indicating a potential upside of 45.75%. Given GW Pharmaceuticals PLC’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe GW Pharmaceuticals PLC is more favorable than Insys Therapeutics.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Insys Therapeutics and GW Pharmaceuticals PLC’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Insys Therapeutics | $217.82 million | 3.32 | $3.16 million | ($0.08) | -125.25 |
| GW Pharmaceuticals PLC | $9.96 million | 281.92 | -$157.92 million | ($4.09) | -27.13 |
Insys Therapeutics has higher revenue and earnings than GW Pharmaceuticals PLC. Insys Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than GW Pharmaceuticals PLC, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Insys Therapeutics and GW Pharmaceuticals PLC’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Insys Therapeutics | -2.64% | -0.97% | -0.75% |
| GW Pharmaceuticals PLC | -1,021.38% | -22.81% | -19.68% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
28.2% of Insys Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.6% of GW Pharmaceuticals PLC shares are held by institutional investors. 67.9% of Insys Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of GW Pharmaceuticals PLC shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Insys Therapeutics beats GW Pharmaceuticals PLC on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Insys Therapeutics
Insys Therapeutics, Inc. is a commercial-stage specialty pharmaceutical company. The Company develops and commercializes supportive care products. The Company’s product Subsys, is a sublingual fentanyl spray for breakthrough cancer pain (BTCP) in opioid-tolerant patients and a single-use product that delivers fentanyl, an opioid analgesic, for transmucosal absorption underneath the tongue. The Company markets Subsys through its field sales force focused on supportive care physicians in the United States. Subsys delivers a liquid fentanyl formulation in approximately 100, 200, 400, 600, 800, 1,200 and 1,600 micrograms (mcg) dosages. The Company’s lead dronabinol product candidate is Syndros, which is under review for approval at the Food and Drug Administration. In addition, the Company is evaluating sublingual spray, inhaled and intravenous formulations of dronabinol in preclinical studies.
About GW Pharmaceuticals PLC
GW Pharmaceuticals plc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapeutics from its cannabinoid product platform in a range of disease areas. The Company’s lead cannabinoid product candidate is Epidiolex, which is a liquid formulation of pure plant-derived cannabidiol (CBD). The Company offers Sativex (nabiximols), which is indicated for the treatment of spasticity due to multiple sclerosis (MS). The Company operates through three segments: Commercial, Sativex Research and Development, and Pipeline Research and Development. The Commercial segment distributes and sells the Company’s commercial products. The Sativex Research and Development segment seeks to maximize the potential of Sativex through the development of new indications. The Pipeline Research and Development segment seeks to develop cannabinoid medications other than Sativex across a range of therapeutic areas using its cannabinoid technology platform.
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