Critical Review: Aeterna Zentaris (NASDAQ:AEZS) and BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:BMRN)

BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:BMRN) and Aeterna Zentaris (NASDAQ:AEZS) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

98.7% of BioMarin Pharmaceutical shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.7% of Aeterna Zentaris shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of BioMarin Pharmaceutical shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Aeterna Zentaris shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

BioMarin Pharmaceutical has a beta of 0.31, indicating that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aeterna Zentaris has a beta of 1.57, indicating that its share price is 57% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares BioMarin Pharmaceutical and Aeterna Zentaris’ top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BioMarin Pharmaceutical	$2.42 billion	6.48	$167.65 million	$0.88	94.39
Aeterna Zentaris	$4.50 million	2.11	-$16.55 million	($3.41)	-0.57

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for BioMarin Pharmaceutical and Aeterna Zentaris, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BioMarin Pharmaceutical	0	7	12	0	2.63
Aeterna Zentaris	0	0	1	0	3.00

BioMarin Pharmaceutical presently has a consensus price target of $108.17, suggesting a potential upside of 32.85%. Aeterna Zentaris has a consensus price target of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 665.31%. Given Aeterna Zentaris’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Aeterna Zentaris is more favorable than BioMarin Pharmaceutical.

Profitability

This table compares BioMarin Pharmaceutical and Aeterna Zentaris’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BioMarin Pharmaceutical	6.93%	5.01%	3.64%
Aeterna Zentaris	-368.01%	-63.20%	-37.35%

Summary

BioMarin Pharmaceutical beats Aeterna Zentaris on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BioMarin Pharmaceutical

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. develops and commercializes therapies for people with serious and life-threatening rare diseases and medical conditions. Its commercial products include Vimizim, an enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) IV type A, a lysosomal storage disorder; Naglazyme, a recombinant form of N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfatase for patients with MPS VI; and Kuvan, a proprietary synthetic oral form of 6R-BH4 that is used to treat patients with phenylketonuria (PKU), an inherited metabolic disease. The company's commercial products also comprise Palynziq, a PEGylated recombinant phenylalanine ammonia lyase enzyme, which is delivered through subcutaneous injection to reduce blood Phe concentrations; Brineura, a recombinant human tripeptidyl peptidase 1 for the treatment of patients with ceroid lipofuscinosis type 2, a form of Batten disease; Voxzogo, a once daily injection analog of c-type natriuretic peptide for the treatment of achondroplasia; and Aldurazyme, a purified protein designed to be identical to a naturally occurring form of the human enzyme alpha-L-iduronidase. In addition, it develops Roctavian, an adeno associated virus vector, for the treatment of patients with severe hemophilia A. The company serves specialty pharmacies, hospitals, and non-U.S. government agencies, as well as distributors and pharmaceutical wholesalers in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and internationally. BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. has license and collaboration agreements with Sarepta Therapeutics, Ares Trading S.A., Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in San Rafael, California.

About Aeterna Zentaris

Aeterna Zentaris Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company, engages in developing and commercializing therapeutics and diagnostic tests. Its lead product is Macrilen (macimorelin), an orally available peptidomimetic ghrelin receptor (GHSR-1a) agonist that stimulates the secretion of growth hormone by binding to the GHSR-1a for the diagnosis of adult growth hormone deficiency and childhood-onset growth hormone deficiency, as well as oncology indications; and AEZS-150, a delayed clearance parathyroid hormonefusion polypeptide that is in preclinical trail for the treatment of hypoparathyroidism in adults. Aeterna Zentaris Inc. has a license agreement with University of Wuerzburg to research, develop, manufacture, and sell a potential COVID-19 vaccine; development, manufacture, and commercialization of the treatment for neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder; and for pre-clinical development towards the potential treatment of Parkinson's disease. It also has a license agreement with Consilient Health Ltd. and NK MEDITECH Ltd. for the development and commercialization of macimorelin in the Republic of Korea; a distribution and commercialization agreement with Er-Kim Pharmaceuticals Bulgaria EOOD for the commercialization of macimorelin for the diagnosis of growth hormone deficiency in children and adults in Turkey and some non-European Union Balkan countries; as well as The University of Sheffield, the United Kingdom for the research, development, manufacture, and commercialization of parathyroid hormone fusion polypeptides for the treatment of primary hypoparathyroidism. Aeterna Zentaris Inc. was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Summerville, South Carolina.