Contrasting Sophiris Bio (OTCMKTS:SPHS) & Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH)

Sophiris Bio (OTCMKTS:SPHS) and Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Sophiris Bio and Amphastar Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sophiris Bio	N/A	N/A	N/A
Amphastar Pharmaceuticals	21.80%	26.44%	11.89%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

65.1% of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. 4.5% of Sophiris Bio shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 27.1% of Amphastar Pharmaceuticals shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Sophiris Bio and Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sophiris Bio	0	0	0	0	0.00
Amphastar Pharmaceuticals	0	3	1	0	2.25

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a consensus target price of $50.33, suggesting a potential upside of 60.91%. Given Amphastar Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Amphastar Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Sophiris Bio.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Sophiris Bio and Amphastar Pharmaceuticals”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sophiris Bio	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Amphastar Pharmaceuticals	$644.40 million	2.33	$137.54 million	$3.00	10.43

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has higher revenue and earnings than Sophiris Bio.

Risk and Volatility

Sophiris Bio has a beta of 1.94, meaning that its stock price is 94% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals beats Sophiris Bio on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sophiris Bio

Sophiris Bio, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, which engages in the development of products for the treatment of urological diseases. The company was founded by James L. Heppell in May 2003 and is headquartered in La Jolla, CA.

About Amphastar Pharmaceuticals

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a bio-pharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells generic and proprietary injectable, inhalation, and intranasal products in the United States, China, and France. It offers BAQSIMI, a nasal spray for the treatment of severe hypoglycemia; Primatene Mist, an over-the-counter epinephrine inhalation product for the temporary relief of mild symptoms of intermittent asthma; Enoxaparin, to prevent and treat deep vein thrombosis; REXTOVY and Naloxone for opioid overdose; Glucagon for injection emergency kit; and Cortrosyn, for use as a diagnostic agent in the screening of patients with adrenocortical insufficiency. The company provides Amphadase, an injection to absorb and disperse other injected drugs; Epinephrine injection for allergic reactions; Lidocaine jelly, an anesthetic product for urological procedures; Lidocaine topical solution for various procedures; Phytonadione injection, a vitamin K1 injection for newborn babies; emergency syringe products; morphine injection for use with patient-controlled analgesia pumps; and Lorazepam injection for surgery and medical procedures. In addition, it offers Neostigmine methylsulfate injection to treat myasthenia gravis and to reverse the effects of muscle relaxants; Isoproterenol hydrochloride injection for mild or transient episodes of heart block; Ganirelix Acetate injection for the inhibition of premature luteinizing hormone surges; Vasopressin to increase blood pressure; and Regadenoson, a stress agent for radionuclide myocardial perfusion imaging. Further, the company distributes recombinant human insulin APIs and porcine insulin API. Additionally, it develops generic product candidates, such as injectable, inhalation, and analytical technologies; biosimial product candidates; and intranasal epinephrine for the treatment of allergic reactions. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, California.