Nuvation Bio (NYSE:NUVB) and Ensysce Biosciences (NASDAQ:ENSC) Head to Head Analysis

Nuvation Bio (NYSE:NUVB) and Ensysce Biosciences (NASDAQ:ENSC) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

61.7% of Nuvation Bio shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.6% of Ensysce Biosciences shares are owned by institutional investors. 36.1% of Nuvation Bio shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 52.7% of Ensysce Biosciences shares are owned 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.

Volatility and Risk

Nuvation Bio has a beta of 1.37, meaning that its share price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ensysce Biosciences has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Nuvation Bio and Ensysce Biosciences’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nuvation Bio	N/A	-12.21%	-11.89%
Ensysce Biosciences	-476.29%	-1,024.79%	-262.37%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Nuvation Bio and Ensysce Biosciences’ gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nuvation Bio	N/A	N/A	-$75.80 million	($0.34)	-7.71
Ensysce Biosciences	$2.23 million	1.85	-$10.61 million	($5.06)	-0.11

Ensysce Biosciences has higher revenue and earnings than Nuvation Bio. Nuvation Bio is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ensysce Biosciences, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Nuvation Bio and Ensysce Biosciences, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nuvation Bio	0	0	5	0	3.00
Ensysce Biosciences	0	0	1	0	3.00

Nuvation Bio presently has a consensus price target of $6.60, suggesting a potential upside of 154.83%. Ensysce Biosciences has a consensus price target of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1,142.02%. Given Ensysce Biosciences’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Ensysce Biosciences is more favorable than Nuvation Bio.

Summary

Nuvation Bio beats Ensysce Biosciences on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nuvation Bio

Nuvation Bio Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of therapeutic candidates for oncology. The company's lead product candidate is NUV-868, a BD2 selective oral small molecule BET inhibitor that epigenetically regulates proteins that control tumor growth and differentiation, including oncogenes comprising c-myc; NUV-1156, an AR binder Xtandi that address advanced stage prostate cancers with the potential to move into earlier lines typically treated with surgical prostatectomy; and drug-drug conjugate (DDC) platform which leverages a novel therapeutic approach within the drug-conjugate class of anti-cancer therapies to deliver anti-cancer therapeutics to cancer cells, as well as NUV-1176, a PARP inhibitor to address ER+ breast and ovarian cancer. The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Ensysce Biosciences

Ensysce Biosciences, Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, engages in developing various prescription drugs for severe pain relief in opioid misuse, abuse, and overdose in the United States. It develops products using Trypsin Activated Abuse Protection platform, an abuse-resistant opioid prodrug technology; and Multi-Pill Abuse Resistance platform, an over-dose protection opioid prodrug technology. The company is developing PF614, a TAAP prodrug candidate of oxycodone for the treatment of acute or chronic pain; and PF614-MPAR, a combination product of PF614 and nafamostat for overdose protection against excessive oral ingestion, as well as an oral and inhalation drug product of nafamostat for use against coronaviral infections and other pulmonary diseases, such as cystic fibrosis. It is also developing PF614, an extended-release oxycodone-derivative which releases clinically effective oxycodone; PF8001 and PF8026 are extended and immediate-release prodrugs of amphetamine for ADHD medication abuse. The company is based in La Jolla, California.