Head to Head Survey: Scilex (NASDAQ:SCLX) vs. Outlook Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OTLK)

Scilex (NASDAQ:SCLX) and Outlook Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OTLK) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Scilex and Outlook Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Scilex	0	0	4	0	3.00
Outlook Therapeutics	0	1	4	0	2.80

Scilex presently has a consensus target price of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 3,860.40%. Outlook Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $12.00, suggesting a potential upside of 601.75%. Given Scilex’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Scilex is more favorable than Outlook Therapeutics.

Profitability

This table compares Scilex and Outlook Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Scilex	-159.10%	N/A	-93.65%
Outlook Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-189.13%

Risk and Volatility

Scilex has a beta of 1.06, suggesting that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Outlook Therapeutics has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Scilex and Outlook Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Scilex	$55.15 million	1.56	-$114.33 million	($0.83)	-0.43
Outlook Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$75.37 million	($8.94)	-0.19

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

69.7% of Scilex shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 11.2% of Outlook Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 8.7% of Scilex shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.4% of Outlook Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Scilex beats Outlook Therapeutics on 8 of the 11 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 Outlook Therapeutics

Outlook Therapeutics, Inc., operates as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing monoclonal antibodies for various ophthalmic indications. Its lead product candidate is ONS-5010, an ophthalmic formulation of bevacizumab product candidate that is in Phase-III clinical trial for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration and other retina diseases. Outlook Therapeutics, Inc. has collaboration and license agreements with BioLexis Pte. Ltd. and Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. The company was formerly known as Oncobiologics, Inc. and changed its name to Outlook Therapeutics, Inc. in November 2018. Outlook Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2010 and is based in Iselin, New Jersey.