Comparing Minerva Neurosciences (NASDAQ:NERV) and Chugai Pharmaceutical (OTCMKTS:CHGCY)

Chugai Pharmaceutical (OTCMKTS:CHGCY) and Minerva Neurosciences (NASDAQ:NERV) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.0% of Chugai Pharmaceutical shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 34.6% of Minerva Neurosciences shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of Minerva Neurosciences shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Chugai Pharmaceutical and Minerva Neurosciences’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chugai Pharmaceutical	34.98%	22.90%	19.45%
Minerva Neurosciences	N/A	N/A	-32.63%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Chugai Pharmaceutical and Minerva Neurosciences, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chugai Pharmaceutical	0	1	1	2	3.25
Minerva Neurosciences	1	1	1	0	2.00

Minerva Neurosciences has a consensus target price of $10.50, suggesting a potential upside of 142.77%. Given Minerva Neurosciences’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Minerva Neurosciences is more favorable than Chugai Pharmaceutical.

Risk and Volatility

Chugai Pharmaceutical has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Minerva Neurosciences has a beta of -0.18, suggesting that its stock price is 118% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Chugai Pharmaceutical and Minerva Neurosciences”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chugai Pharmaceutical	$8.41 billion	9.08	$2.91 billion	$0.90	25.78
Minerva Neurosciences	N/A	N/A	-$293.42 million	($29.16)	-0.15

Chugai Pharmaceutical has higher revenue and earnings than Minerva Neurosciences. Minerva Neurosciences is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Chugai Pharmaceutical, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Chugai Pharmaceutical beats Minerva Neurosciences on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Chugai Pharmaceutical

Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, manufacture, sale, importation, and exportation of pharmaceuticals in Japan and internationally. The company’s products for oncology primarily include Avastin, FoundationOne, Polivy, Rozlytrek, Tecentriq, Perjeta, Alecensa, Herceptin, Kadcyla, Rituxan, and Gazyva; Edirol, an Osteoporosis agent; Mircera, an erythropoiesis agent; Oxarol, an agent for secondary hyperparathyroidism; and other diseases comprise Hemlibra, CellCept, Bonviva, Tamiflu, Evrysdi, Ronapreve, Vabysmo, and Enspryng. It has various development product candidates in the areas of oncology, immunology, neuroscience, hematology, ophthalmology, and other diseases. Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. has strategic alliances and collaboration with Roche Group. The company was founded in 1925 and is headquartered in Chuo, Japan. Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. operates as a subsidiary of Roche Holding Ltd.

About Minerva Neurosciences

Minerva Neurosciences, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of product candidates for the treatment of central nervous system diseases. Its lead product candidate is roluperidone (MIN-101) for the treatment of negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia, currently submitted an New Drug Application (NDA); and MIN-301, a soluble recombinant form of the neuregulin-1b1 protein for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. The company has a license agreement with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation to develop, sell, and import roluperidone globally excluding Asia. Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Burlington, Massachusetts.