Financial Contrast: Seelos Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SEEL) and Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX)

Seelos Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SEEL) and Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and earnings.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

23.4% of Seelos Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.0% of Viking Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of Seelos Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.7% of Viking Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Seelos Therapeutics and Viking Therapeutics”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Seelos Therapeutics	$2.20 million	0.92	-$37.88 million	N/A	N/A
Viking Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$85.89 million	($0.93)	-67.88

Seelos Therapeutics has higher revenue and earnings than Viking Therapeutics.

Volatility & Risk

Seelos Therapeutics has a beta of 1.85, meaning that its share price is 85% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Viking Therapeutics has a beta of 1, meaning that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Seelos Therapeutics and Viking Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Seelos Therapeutics	203.13%	N/A	-431.47%
Viking Therapeutics	N/A	-15.05%	-14.52%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Seelos Therapeutics and Viking Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Seelos Therapeutics	0	0	0	0	N/A
Viking Therapeutics	0	0	10	1	3.09

Viking Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $108.60, indicating a potential upside of 72.03%. Given Viking Therapeutics’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Viking Therapeutics is more favorable than Seelos Therapeutics.

Summary

Seelos Therapeutics beats Viking Therapeutics on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Seelos Therapeutics

Seelos Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for the treatment of central nervous system, respiratory, and other disorders. The company's lead programs are SLS-002, an intranasal racemic ketamine for the treatment of acute suicidal ideation and behavior in patients with major depressive disorders; SLS-005, a protein stabilizer for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Sanfilippo syndrome; and SLS-006, a partial dopamine agonist for the treatment of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Its preclinical programs include SLS-007, a peptidic inhibitor to treat patients with PD; SLS-008 for the treatment of pediatric indications; SLS-004 for the treatment of PD; SLS-010, an H3 receptor antagonist; and SLS-012. The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Viking Therapeutics

Viking Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. The company's lead drug candidate is VK2809, an orally available tissue and receptor-subtype selective agonist of the thyroid hormone receptor beta (TRß), which is in Phase IIb clinical trials to treat patients with biopsy-confirmed non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, as well as NAFLD. It also develops VK5211, an orally available non-steroidal selective androgen receptor modulator that is in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of patients recovering from non-elective hip fracture surgery; VK0612, an orally available Phase IIb-ready drug candidate for type 2 diabetes; VK2735, a novel dual agonist of the glucagon-like peptide, which is in Phase 1 SAD/MAD clinical trial, and VK0214, an orally available tissue and receptor-subtype selective agonist of the TRß for X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.