Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) vs. United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) Head to Head Comparison

United Therapeutics (NASDAQ:UTHR) and Akero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKRO) are both medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.1% of United Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 12.5% of United Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.9% of Akero Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

United Therapeutics has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Akero Therapeutics has a beta of -0.25, meaning that its share price is 125% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares United Therapeutics and Akero Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
United Therapeutics	40.87%	18.82%	15.61%
Akero Therapeutics	N/A	-29.50%	-27.23%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for United Therapeutics and Akero Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
United Therapeutics	1	3	10	0	2.64
Akero Therapeutics	0	1	6	0	2.86

United Therapeutics presently has a consensus price target of $357.17, indicating a potential downside of 3.46%. Akero Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $43.20, indicating a potential upside of 39.13%. Given Akero Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Akero Therapeutics is more favorable than United Therapeutics.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares United Therapeutics and Akero Therapeutics”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
United Therapeutics	$2.62 billion	6.33	$984.80 million	$21.15	17.64
Akero Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$151.76 million	($3.20)	-9.65

United Therapeutics has higher revenue and earnings than Akero Therapeutics. Akero Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than United Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

United Therapeutics beats Akero Therapeutics on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About United Therapeutics

United Therapeutics Corporation, a biotechnology company, engages in the development and commercialization of products to address the unmet medical needs of patients with chronic and life-threatening diseases in the United States and internationally. The company offers Tyvaso DPI, an inhaled dry powder via pre-filled and single-use cartridges; Tyvaso, an inhaled solution via ultrasonic nebulizer; Remodulin (treprostinil) injection to treat patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to diminish symptoms associated with exercise; Orenitram, a tablet dosage form of treprostinil, to delay disease progression and improve exercise capacity in PAH patients; and Adcirca, an oral PDE-5 inhibitor to enhance the exercise ability in PAH patients. It also markets and sells Unituxin (dinutuximab) injection, a monoclonal antibody for treating high-risk neuroblastoma; and Remunity Pump, which contains a pump and separate controller for Remodulin. In addition, the company engages in developing RemoPro and Ralinepag for the treatment of PAH; Aurora-GT, a gene therapy product to rebuild the blood vessels in the lungs; and Nebulized Tyvaso, for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, as well as xenografts, which are development-stage organ products. It has licensing and collaboration agreements with DEKA Research & Development Corp. to develop a semi-disposable system for the subcutaneous delivery of treprostinil; MannKind Corporation to develop and license treprostinil inhalation powder and the Dreamboat device; and Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop Ralinepag. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland.

About Akero Therapeutics

Akero Therapeutics, Inc., together with its subsidiary, engages in the development of treatments for patients with serious metabolic diseases in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is efruxifermin (EFX), which is in Phase 3 clinical trials that protects against cellular stress and regulates the metabolism of lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins throughout the body for the treatment of biopsy-confirmed metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) patients. It has a license agreement with Amgen Inc. to develop, manufacture, use, distribute, and sell EFX as a treatment for MASH and other metabolic diseases. The company was formerly known as Pippin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed its name to Akero Therapeutics, Inc. in May 2018. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.