Head-To-Head Analysis: FibroGen (NASDAQ:FGEN) & Roche (OTCMKTS:RHHBY)

Roche (OTCMKTS:RHHBY) and FibroGen (NASDAQ:FGEN) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Roche and FibroGen’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Roche	N/A	N/A	N/A
FibroGen	-67.66%	N/A	-36.17%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

72.7% of FibroGen shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of FibroGen shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Roche has a beta of 0.42, indicating that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FibroGen has a beta of 0.75, indicating that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Roche and FibroGen, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Roche	2	2	1	2	2.43
FibroGen	0	1	1	0	2.50

FibroGen has a consensus price target of $10.00, indicating a potential upside of 1,316.63%. Given FibroGen’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe FibroGen is more favorable than Roche.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Roche and FibroGen”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Roche	$68.73 billion	3.84	$9.40 billion	N/A	N/A
FibroGen	$147.75 million	0.48	-$284.23 million	($1.23)	-0.57

Roche has higher revenue and earnings than FibroGen.

Summary

Roche beats FibroGen on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Roche

Roche Holding AG engages in the pharmaceuticals and diagnostics businesses in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Oceania. The company offers pharmaceutical products in the therapeutic areas of anemia, blood and solid tumors, dermatology, hemophilia, inflammatory and autoimmune, neurological disorders, ophthalmology, respiratory disorders, and transplantation. It is also developing products for various therapeutic areas. In addition, it offers in vitro tests for the diagnosis of various diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, Covid-19, hepatitis, human papillomavirus, and other diseases; diagnostic instruments; and digital health solutions. Roche Holding AG was founded in 1896 and is based in Basel, Switzerland.

About FibroGen

FibroGen, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes therapeutics to treat serious unmet medical needs. Its lead product candidates are Pamrevlumab, a human monoclonal antibody targeting connective tissue growth factor that is in Phase III clinical development for the treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer; and Roxadustat, an oral small molecule inhibitor of hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase activity, which has completed Phase III clinical development for the treatment of anemia in chronic kidney disease in China, Europe, Japan, and other countries, as well as in Phase III clinical development for anemia related with myelodysplastic syndromes. The company has collaboration agreements with Astellas Pharma Inc. and AstraZeneca AB. FibroGen, Inc. was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.