Head-To-Head Analysis: DURECT (NASDAQ:DRRX) vs. Acerus Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:TRLPF)

DURECT (NASDAQ:DRRX) and Acerus Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:TRLPF) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for DURECT and Acerus Pharmaceuticals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
DURECT	0	1	1	0	2.50
Acerus Pharmaceuticals	0	0	0	0	0.00

DURECT presently has a consensus price target of $5.00, indicating a potential upside of 488.24%. Given DURECT’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe DURECT is more favorable than Acerus Pharmaceuticals.

Profitability

This table compares DURECT and Acerus Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
DURECT	-198.58%	-300.62%	-65.17%
Acerus Pharmaceuticals	-254.66%	-346.72%	-94.54%

Risk & Volatility

DURECT has a beta of 1.01, suggesting that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acerus Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 2.6, suggesting that its stock price is 160% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

28.0% of DURECT shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Acerus Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.2% of DURECT shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares DURECT and Acerus Pharmaceuticals”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
DURECT	$8.59 million	3.07	-$27.62 million	($0.61)	-1.39
Acerus Pharmaceuticals	$7.38 million	7.71	-$18.79 million	($0.08)	-2.75

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

Summary

DURECT beats Acerus Pharmaceuticals on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About DURECT

DURECT Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, develops medicines based on its epigenetic regulator program. The company's lead product larsucosterol (DUR-928), an endogenous, orally bioavailable small molecule that is in Phase IIb clinical trial to play a regulatory role in lipid metabolism, stress and inflammatory responses, and cell death and survival to treat alcohol-associated hepatitis, as well as completed Phase Ib clinical trial to treat patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. It also offers ALZET product line that consists of osmotic pumps and accessories used for research in mice, rats, and other laboratory animals. In addition, the company offers POSIMIR, a post-surgical pain product to deliver bupivacaine over three days in adults; and Methydur to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It markets and sells its ALZET lines through direct sales force in the United States, as well as through a network of distributors in other countries. The company has strategic collaboration and other agreements with Virginia Commonwealth University Intellectual Property Foundation; Indivior UK Ltd.; and Innocoll Pharmaceuticals Limited. DURECT Corporation was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Cupertino, California.

About Acerus Pharmaceuticals

Acerus Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a specialty pharmaceutical company, focuses on the development, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of pharmaceutical products for men's and women's health. The company offers Natesto, a nasal gel for testosterone replacement therapy in adult males diagnosed with hypogonadism; Estrace, an oral tablet for the symptomatic relief of menopausal symptoms; and UriVarx, a natural health product that helps reduce symptoms of hyperactive bladder, such as daytime urinary frequency, urgency, and nocturia. It also engages in developing Lidbree, a short acting lidocaine formulation delivered through a proprietary device into the vaginal mucosal tissue; Stendra, a PDE5 inhibitor for the treatment of erectile dysfunction; Elegant vaginal moisturizer, which provides comfort to women suffering from vaginal dryness; and Elegant pH, a pH balanced vaginal product; Gynoflor, an ultra-low dose vaginal estrogen combined with a probiotic for the treatment of vaginal atrophy, restoration of vaginal flora, and treatment of certain vaginal infections; and Tefina, a clinical stage product for women with female sexual dysfunction. Acerus Pharmaceuticals Corporation sells products through its salesforce in Canada; and through a network of licensed distributors in the United States and internationally. The company was formerly known as Trimel Pharmaceuticals Corporation and changed its name to Acerus Pharmaceuticals Corporation in September 2015. Acerus Pharmaceuticals Corporation was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Mississauga, Canada.