Financial Comparison: Zealand Pharma A/S (OTCMKTS:ZLDPF) and Aytu BioPharma (NASDAQ:AYTU)
by Danessa Lincoln · The Markets DailyZealand Pharma A/S (OTCMKTS:ZLDPF – Get Free Report) and Aytu BioPharma (NASDAQ:AYTU – Get Free Report) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, valuation, risk and dividends.
Profitability
This table compares Zealand Pharma A/S and Aytu BioPharma’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Zealand Pharma A/S | 68.82% | 41.80% | 38.49% |
| Aytu BioPharma | -60.17% | -69.93% | -13.25% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
33.5% of Aytu BioPharma shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.9% of Aytu BioPharma shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Risk & Volatility
Zealand Pharma A/S has a beta of 0.86, indicating that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aytu BioPharma has a beta of 0.24, indicating that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Zealand Pharma A/S and Aytu BioPharma, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Zealand Pharma A/S | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2.75 |
| Aytu BioPharma | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.40 |
Aytu BioPharma has a consensus target price of $9.33, indicating a potential upside of 314.81%. Given Aytu BioPharma’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Aytu BioPharma is more favorable than Zealand Pharma A/S.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Zealand Pharma A/S and Aytu BioPharma”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Zealand Pharma A/S | $1.40 billion | 2.55 | $977.29 million | $13.48 | 3.69 |
| Aytu BioPharma | $56.60 million | 0.43 | -$13.56 million | ($4.58) | -0.49 |
Zealand Pharma A/S has higher revenue and earnings than Aytu BioPharma. Aytu BioPharma is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Zealand Pharma A/S, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Zealand Pharma A/S beats Aytu BioPharma on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Zealand Pharma A/S
Zealand Pharma A/S, a biotechnology company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of peptide-based medicines in Denmark. It has a portfolio of medicines focusing on gastrointestinal and metabolic diseases, and other specialty disease areas with unmet medical needs. The company offers Dasiglucagon, a single use syringe or autoinjector for the treatment of severe hypoglycemia; and Dasiglucagon bi-hormone artificial pancreas systems containing insulin and dasiglucagon. Its pipeline includes Dasiglucagon that is in Phase III clinical trials for treating congenital hyperinsulinism. The company is also developing glepaglutide, a long acting GLP-2 analog, which is in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of short bowel syndrome. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is based in Søborg, Denmark.
About Aytu BioPharma
Aytu Biopharma, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company, which engages in identifying, acquiring, and commercializing novel products. It operates through the Rx and Consumer Health segments. The RX segment consists of various prescription pharmaceutical products sold through third parties. The Consumer Health segment includes various consumer health products sold directly to consumers. Its products include Adzenys ER, Adzenys XR-ODT, Cotempla XR-ODT, Karbinal ER, Poly-Vi-Flor, Tri-Vi-Flor, Generic Tussionex, Tuzistra XR, and ZolpiMist. The company was founded on August 9, 2002 and is headquartered in Englewood, CO.