Contrasting Zura Bio (NASDAQ:ZURA) and Scilex (NASDAQ:SCLX)

Scilex (NASDAQ:SCLX) and Zura Bio (NASDAQ:ZURA) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Scilex and Zura Bio’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Scilex	$46.74 million	6.53	-$114.33 million	($1.31)	-1.28
Zura Bio	N/A	N/A	-$69.24 million	N/A	N/A

Zura Bio has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Scilex.

Volatility & Risk

Scilex has a beta of 1.22, suggesting that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zura Bio has a beta of 0.15, suggesting that its share price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

69.7% of Scilex shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.1% of Zura Bio shares are held by institutional investors. 8.7% of Scilex shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.8% of Zura Bio shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Scilex and Zura Bio, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Scilex	0	0	3	0	3.00
Zura Bio	0	0	5	1	3.17

Scilex presently has a consensus price target of $8.00, indicating a potential upside of 376.19%. Zura Bio has a consensus price target of $19.75, indicating a potential upside of 407.71%. Given Zura Bio’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Zura Bio is more favorable than Scilex.

Profitability

This table compares Scilex and Zura Bio’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Scilex	-229.47%	N/A	-106.29%
Zura Bio	N/A	-64.56%	-50.33%

Summary

Zura Bio beats Scilex on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Scilex

Scilex Holding Company focuses on acquiring, developing, and commercializing non-opioid pain management products for the treatment of acute and chronic pain. Its commercial products include ZTlido (lidocaine topical system) 1.8% (ZTlido), a prescription lidocaine topical product for the relief of neuropathic pain associated with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), which is a form of post-shingles nerve pain; ELYXYB, a ready-to-use oral solution for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults; and GLOPERBA, a liquid oral version of the anti-gout medicine colchicine indicated for the prophylaxis of painful gout flares in adults. The company is also developing three product candidates, including SP-102 (10 mg dexamethasone sodium phosphate viscous gel) (SEMDEXA), a novel viscous gel formulation of a used corticosteroid for epidural injections, which has completed a Phase 3 study to treat lumbosacral radicular pain or sciatica; SP-103 (lidocaine topical system) 5.4% (SP-103), a formulation of ZTlido for the treatment of chronic neck pain and low back pain (LBP) that has completed a Phase 2 trial; and SP-104 (4.5 mg low-dose naltrexone hydrochloride delayed-release capsules) (SP-104), a novel low-dose delayed-release naltrexone hydrochloride, which has completed Phase 1 trials for the treatment of fibromyalgia. The company is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

About Zura Bio

Zura Bio Limited, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on developing novel medicines for immune and inflammatory disorders. It develops Tibulizumab, an IgG-scFv bispecific dual-antagonist antibody engineered by the fusion of ixekizumab and tabalumab that neutralizes IL-17A and BAFF, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial development; ZB-168, a monoclonal antibody that binds and neutralizes the IL-7 receptor chain that impact on diseases driven by IL7 and thymic stromal lymphopoietin immune pathways; and Torudokimab, a monoclonal antibody that neutralizes IL33, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial development. The company is based in Henderson, Nevada.