Contrasting BetterLife Pharma (OTCMKTS:PVOTF) and Mereo BioPharma Group (NASDAQ:MREO)

BetterLife Pharma (OTCMKTS:PVOTF) and Mereo BioPharma Group (NASDAQ:MREO) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

62.8% of Mereo BioPharma Group shares are held by institutional investors. 34.8% of BetterLife Pharma shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.1% of Mereo BioPharma Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares BetterLife Pharma and Mereo BioPharma Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BetterLife Pharma	N/A	-205.15%	-147.23%
Mereo BioPharma Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for BetterLife Pharma and Mereo BioPharma Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BetterLife Pharma	0	0	0	0	0.00
Mereo BioPharma Group	0	0	4	1	3.20

Mereo BioPharma Group has a consensus target price of $7.50, suggesting a potential upside of 96.34%. Given Mereo BioPharma Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Mereo BioPharma Group is more favorable than BetterLife Pharma.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares BetterLife Pharma and Mereo BioPharma Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BetterLife Pharma	N/A	N/A	-$14.78 million	N/A	N/A
Mereo BioPharma Group	$1.00 million	535.78	-$29.47 million	N/A	N/A

BetterLife Pharma has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Mereo BioPharma Group.

Summary

Mereo BioPharma Group beats BetterLife Pharma on 8 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BetterLife Pharma

BetterLife Pharma, Inc. is an early stage pharmaceutical company, which engages in the development and commercialization of therapeutic pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products. It also offers drug delivery platform technologies. Its product lines include capsules, tablets, and softgels; bulk powder; stick packs; beverages; oral solutions; lotions, creams, and gels; pet food additives; gum, mints, and candies; and sexual health products. It distributes its product under the Pivot Naturals brand. The company was founded on June 10, 2002 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Mereo BioPharma Group

Mereo BioPharma Group plc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops and commercializes therapeutics for the treatment of oncology and rare diseases in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It develops Etigilimab (MPH-313), an antibody T-cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains, which is in Phase 1b clinical trial for the treatment of tumors. The company is also developing Navicixizumab (OMP-305B83), which has completed Phase 1b clinical trials for the treatment of the late line ovarian cancer; Acumapimod (BCT-197), a p38 MAP kinase inhibitor that is in Phase II clinical trials to treat acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; and Leflutrozole (BGS-649), an oral aromatase inhibitor for the treatment of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism which is in Phase 2 trials. In addition, it develops rare disease product candidates, including Setrusumab (BPS-804), an antibody for the treatment of osteogenesis imperfecta; and Alvelestat (MPH-966), an oral small molecule that is in Phase II clinical trial to treat Alpha-1 anti-trypsin deficiency. The company has a license agreement with Feng Biosciences for the development and commercialization of navicixizumab; license agreement with ReproNovo for the development and commercialization of leflutrozole; licensing agreement with AstraZeneca; and license agreement with Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. to develop and commercialize setrusumab. Mereo BioPharma Group plc was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.