Analyzing ReNeuron Group (OTCMKTS:RNUGF) & Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA)

ReNeuron Group (OTCMKTS:RNUGF) and Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) are both medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for ReNeuron Group and Akebia Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ReNeuron Group	0	0	0	0	0.00
Akebia Therapeutics	2	0	3	0	2.20

Akebia Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $4.67, indicating a potential upside of 324.24%. Given Akebia Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Akebia Therapeutics is more favorable than ReNeuron Group.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares ReNeuron Group and Akebia Therapeutics”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ReNeuron Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Akebia Therapeutics	$236.20 million	1.25	-$5.34 million	($0.08)	-13.75

ReNeuron Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Akebia Therapeutics.

Profitability

This table compares ReNeuron Group and Akebia Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ReNeuron Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Akebia Therapeutics	-8.83%	-62.72%	-5.66%

Volatility & Risk

ReNeuron Group has a beta of -0.64, indicating that its share price is 164% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Akebia Therapeutics has a beta of 0.26, indicating that its share price is 74% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

33.9% of Akebia Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.3% of Akebia Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Akebia Therapeutics beats ReNeuron Group on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ReNeuron Group

ReNeuron Group plc researches, develops, and commercializes cell-based therapies in the United Kingdom. The company engages in the development of CTX stem cell therapy candidate for treating stroke disability; and human retinal progenitor cell therapy that is in Phase 2 clinical trial for treating retinitis pigmentosa, a blindness-causing disease. It also develops CTX-derived exosomes that are in the pre-clinical stage, which are Nano-sized vesicles secreted by stem cells. In addition, the company licenses ReNcell products. It has a collaboration agreement with University College London to conduct research into the generation of immune cells from induced pluripotent stem cells for anti-cancer cell therapies. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Pencoed, the United Kingdom.

About Akebia Therapeutics

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for patients with kidney diseases. The company’s lead product investigational product candidate is Vafseo (vadadustat), an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase, which is in Phase III development for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease (CKD) in dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis dependent patients. It offers Auryxia, a ferric citrate that is used to control the serum phosphorus levels in adult patients with DD-CKD on dialysis; and the treatment of iron deficiency anemia in adult patients with CKD not on dialysis. The company’s product pipeline includes AKB-9090, a drug targeting critical-care indications; and AKB-10108, a drug targeting conditions related to premature birth. It has collaboration agreements with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation for the development and commercialization of vadadustat in Japan and other Asian countries, as well as research and license agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV for the development and commercialization of hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase targeted compounds worldwide. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.