Critical Analysis: Syros Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SYRS) versus Eagle Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:EGRX)

Eagle Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:EGRX) and Syros Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SYRS) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Eagle Pharmaceuticals and Syros Pharmaceuticals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eagle Pharmaceuticals	0	0	0	0	N/A
Syros Pharmaceuticals	0	0	3	0	3.00

Syros Pharmaceuticals has a consensus target price of $5.00, suggesting a potential upside of 97.63%. Given Syros Pharmaceuticals’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Syros Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Eagle Pharmaceuticals.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

85.4% of Eagle Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.5% of Syros Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 28.9% of Eagle Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 12.3% of Syros Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Eagle Pharmaceuticals and Syros Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eagle Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	N/A
Syros Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-850.20%	-94.06%

Volatility & Risk

Eagle Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.51, meaning that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Syros Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.59, meaning that its share price is 59% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Eagle Pharmaceuticals and Syros Pharmaceuticals”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eagle Pharmaceuticals	$257.55 million	0.02	$35.64 million	$1.18	0.34
Syros Pharmaceuticals	$4.15 million	16.30	-$164.57 million	($5.01)	-0.50

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

Summary

Eagle Pharmaceuticals beats Syros Pharmaceuticals on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Eagle Pharmaceuticals

Eagle Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing product candidates to treat diseases of the central nervous system or metabolic critical care, and oncology in the United States. The company offers Ryanodex for malignant hyperthermia; and Belrapzo and Bendeka for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Its product candidates also include EP-4104, a dantrolene sodium to treat organophosphate exposure; PEMFEXY, a ready-to-use/dilute liquid form of pemetrexed for non-small cell lung cancer and mesothelioma; EA-114 (fulvestrant) for HR+/HER- breast cancer; and Vasopressin injection, which is indicated to enhance blood pressure in adults with vasodilatory shock. The company has license and collaboration agreements with Combioxin, SA for the development and commercialization rights to CAL02, an antitoxin agent for the treatment of severe pneumonia in combination with traditional antibacterial drugs; and AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals GmbH for the commercial rights of Landiolol, a novel therapeutic product candidate for the short-term reduction of ventricular rate in patients with supraventricular tachycardia, including atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter. It has a strategic collaboration with Tyme Technologies, Inc. for the development of SM-88 to treat breast cancer (HR+/HER2-) and high-risk metastatic sarcomas. Eagle Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

About Syros Pharmaceuticals

Syros Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of treatment for hematologic malignancies. The company's lead product candidates are Tamibarotene, a selective retinoic acid receptor alpha agonist, which is in Phase III clinical trial for genomically defined subset of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome and Phase II clinical trial for patients with acute myeloid leukemia; SY-2101, a novel oral form of arsenic trioxide for treating patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia; and SY-5609, a cyclin-dependent kinase 7 inhibitor, which is in a Phase I clinical trial in patients with select advanced solid tumors. The company was formerly known as LS22, Inc. and changed its name to Syros Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in August 2012. Syros Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.