Helix BioPharma (OTCMKTS:HBPCF) and Indivior (NASDAQ:INDV) Critical Review

Helix BioPharma (OTCMKTS:HBPCF) and Indivior (NASDAQ:INDV) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Helix BioPharma and Indivior, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Helix BioPharma	0	0	0	0	0.00
Indivior	0	0	3	1	3.25

Indivior has a consensus target price of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 53.06%. Given Indivior’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Indivior is more favorable than Helix BioPharma.

Profitability

This table compares Helix BioPharma and Indivior’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Helix BioPharma	N/A	N/A	-1,097.76%
Indivior	-3.96%	-241.73%	15.09%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

60.3% of Indivior shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.6% of Helix BioPharma shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Helix BioPharma and Indivior”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Helix BioPharma	N/A	N/A	-$6.82 million	($0.12)	-3.79
Indivior	$1.19 billion	1.14	$2.00 million	($0.35)	-28.00

Indivior has higher revenue and earnings than Helix BioPharma. Indivior is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Helix BioPharma, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Helix BioPharma has a beta of 0.06, meaning that its stock price is 94% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Indivior has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Indivior beats Helix BioPharma on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Helix BioPharma

Helix BioPharma Corp. operates as an immune-oncology company in Canada. It is developing L-DOS47 for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer; and V-DOS47 that targets the vascular epithelial growth factor receptor 2. Helix BioPharma Corp. has collaboration agreements with Moffitt Cancer Center to investigate the pharmacodynamics of L-DOS47 and determine the benefits of combining L-DOS47 with immune checkpoint inhibitors; and with University Hospital Tuebingen to assess the therapeutic response of L-DOS47 in cancer models expressing CEACAM6, with advanced preclinical metabolic imaging. The company is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About Indivior

Indivior PLC, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of buprenorphine-based prescription drugs for the treatment of opioid dependence and co-occurring disorders in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company develops medicines to treat substance use disorders, serious mental illnesses, and opioid overdose. Its core marketed products include SUBLOCADE and SUBUTEX PRO buprenorphine extended-release monthly injections; SUBOXONE, a buprenorphine and naloxone sublingual film; SUBOXONE, a buprenorphine and naloxone sublingual tablet; and SUBUTEX, a buprenorphine sublingual tablet for the treatment of opioid use disorder. The company also offers OPVEE nasal spray for opioid overdose reversal; and PERSERIS extended-release injectable suspension for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults. In addition, it is developing INDV-2000, a selective orexin-1 receptor antagonist that completed phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD); INDV-1000, a selective GABAb positive allosteric modulator, which is in pre-clinical development phase for the treatment of alcohol use disorder in collaboration with ADDEX therapeutics; INDV-6001, a buprenorphine-based long-acting injectable for the treatment of OUD in collaboration with Alar Pharmaceuticals Inc.; and CT-102, a digital therapeutic for the treatment of OUD in collaboration with Click Therapeutics. Further, the company is developing INDV-5004, a drinabant injection to treat acute cannabinoid overdose. It has a strategic partnership with Aelis Farma to develop AEF0117, a synthetic CB1 specific signaling inhibitor that is in phase 2B clinical trial for the treatment of cannabis use disorder. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in North Chesterfield, Virginia.