Head-To-Head Comparison: Annovis Bio (NYSE:ANVS) & Regulus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RGLS)

Regulus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RGLS) and Annovis Bio (NYSE:ANVS) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Regulus Therapeutics and Annovis Bio, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Regulus Therapeutics	0	1	5	0	2.83
Annovis Bio	0	1	5	1	3.00

Regulus Therapeutics currently has a consensus target price of $10.80, indicating a potential upside of 660.56%. Annovis Bio has a consensus target price of $32.17, indicating a potential upside of 381.54%. Given Regulus Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Regulus Therapeutics is more favorable than Annovis Bio.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

92.4% of Regulus Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.8% of Annovis Bio shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.4% of Regulus Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 32.3% of Annovis Bio shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Regulus Therapeutics and Annovis Bio”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Regulus Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$30.04 million	($1.07)	-1.33
Annovis Bio	N/A	N/A	-$56.20 million	($4.46)	-1.50

Annovis Bio is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Regulus Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Regulus Therapeutics has a beta of 1.63, indicating that its stock price is 63% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Annovis Bio has a beta of 1.7, indicating that its stock price is 70% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Regulus Therapeutics and Annovis Bio’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Regulus Therapeutics	N/A	-53.07%	-48.58%
Annovis Bio	N/A	-876.22%	-311.00%

Summary

Regulus Therapeutics beats Annovis Bio on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Regulus Therapeutics

Regulus Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovery and development of drugs that targets microRNAs to treat a range of diseases in the United States. Its product candidates include RGLS8429, an anti-miR next generation oligonucleotide targeting miR-17, which is in Phase 1b clinical trial for the treatment of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. The company is also developing a pipeline of preclinical drug products for target organ-selective delivery strategies. Regulus Therapeutics Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About Annovis Bio

Annovis Bio, Inc., a clinical stage drug platform company, develops drugs to treat neurodegeneration. The company's lead product candidate is Buntanetap, which has completed three Phase 1/2 clinical trials for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease, and other chronic neurodegenerative diseases. It is also developing ANVS405, which is in Phase 2 and Phase 3 efficacy studies, an intravenous drug for protecting the brain after traumatic brain injury and/or stroke; and ANVS301, which is in Phase I clinical trials, an orally administered drug to increase cognitive capability in later stages of AD and dementia. The company was incorporated in 2008 and is based in Malvern, Pennsylvania.