Critical Contrast: Biohaven (NYSE:BHVN) versus Spruce Biosciences (NASDAQ:SPRB)

Biohaven (NYSE:BHVN) and Spruce Biosciences (NASDAQ:SPRB) are both medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Biohaven and Spruce Biosciences, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Biohaven	0	0	11	1	3.08
Spruce Biosciences	0	6	2	0	2.25

Biohaven currently has a consensus target price of $54.70, indicating a potential upside of 38.83%. Spruce Biosciences has a consensus target price of $5.00, indicating a potential upside of 1,017.07%. Given Spruce Biosciences’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Spruce Biosciences is more favorable than Biohaven.

Profitability

This table compares Biohaven and Spruce Biosciences’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Biohaven	N/A	-212.83%	-157.42%
Spruce Biosciences	-450.38%	-59.94%	-45.38%

Volatility and Risk

Biohaven has a beta of 1.3, meaning that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Spruce Biosciences has a beta of 2.4, meaning that its stock price is 140% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Biohaven and Spruce Biosciences”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Biohaven	$462.51 million	7.52	-$408.17 million	($6.83)	-5.77
Spruce Biosciences	$9.57 million	1.92	-$47.92 million	($1.13)	-0.40

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

88.8% of Biohaven shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.7% of Spruce Biosciences shares are held by institutional investors. 16.0% of Biohaven shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.1% of Spruce Biosciences shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Spruce Biosciences beats Biohaven on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Biohaven

Biohaven Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, focuses on discovering, developing, and commercializing therapies for immunology, neuroscience, and oncology worldwide. The company's pipeline products include Troriluzole, which is in Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of neurological and neuropsychiatric illnesses; BHV-5500 that blocks glutamate signaling mediated by post-synaptic NMDA receptors; Taldefgrobep Alfa, which is in Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy and obesity; BHV-7000, a candidate in Phase 2/3 clinical trials for the treatment of focal and generalized epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder; BHV-2100 that is in Phase 1 clinical trials for the treatment of migraines and neuropathic pain; and BHV-8000, a product candidate in Phase 1 clinical trials for the treatment of early Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, sclerosis, and amyloid-related imaging abnormalities. It also offers BHV-1300, a product candidate in Phase 1 clinical trials to treat rheumatoid arthritis; BHV-1310 for the treatment of generalized myasthenia gravis and acute exacerbations or flares; BHV-1400 to treat IgA Nephropathy; and BHV-1600 for the treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy. In addition, the company develops BHV-1100, a product candidate in Phase 1a/1b clinical trials for multiple myeloma patients; BHV-1510, a preclinical product that targets carcinomas; and BHV-1500 for Hodgkin's lymphoma. It has license, development, and commercialization agreements with Yale University, AstraZeneca, University of Connecticut, Artizan Biosciences Inc., Reliant Glycosciences LLC, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, BMS, and Highlightll Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. The company was formerly known as Biohaven Research Ltd and changed its name to Biohaven Ltd. in September 2022. Biohaven Ltd. was incorporated in 2022 and is headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut.

About Spruce Biosciences

Spruce Biosciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing novel therapies for rare endocrine disorders. The company engages in developing tildacerfont, a non-steroidal therapy to enhance disease control and reduce steroid burden for patients suffering from congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), which is in Phase 2b clinical trial; and to evaluate glucocorticoid reduction in adult patients with classic CAH that is Phase 2b clinical trial. It is also developing tildacerfont for the treatment of pediatric classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia in children that is in Phase 2 clinical trial; and for females with polycystic ovary syndrome, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial. Spruce Biosciences, Inc. has a license agreement with Eli Lilly and Company to research, develop, and commercialize compounds for various pharmaceutical uses; and collaboration and license agreement with Kaken Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. to develop, manufacture, and commercialize tildacerfont for the treatment of CAH in Japan. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.