Critical Survey: Tenax Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TENX) and Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS)

Merus (NASDAQ:MRUS) and Tenax Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TENX) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Merus and Tenax Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Merus	-680.61%	-38.89%	-31.16%
Tenax Therapeutics	N/A	-46.00%	-42.65%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

96.1% of Merus shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.7% of Tenax Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.6% of Merus shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Tenax Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Merus has a beta of 1.07, suggesting that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tenax Therapeutics has a beta of 2.21, suggesting that its share price is 121% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Merus and Tenax Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Merus	$43.95 million	65.19	-$154.94 million	($3.95)	-10.59
Tenax Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$7.71 million	N/A	N/A

Tenax Therapeutics has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Merus.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Merus and Tenax Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Merus	0	0	12	2	3.14
Tenax Therapeutics	0	0	4	1	3.20

Merus currently has a consensus price target of $85.64, suggesting a potential upside of 104.63%. Tenax Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $16.00, suggesting a potential upside of 185.20%. Given Tenax Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Tenax Therapeutics is more favorable than Merus.

Summary

Merus beats Tenax Therapeutics on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Merus

Merus N.V., a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, engages in the development of antibody therapeutics in the Netherlands. Its bispecific antibody candidate pipeline includes Zenocutuzumab (MCLA-128), which is in a phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer and castration-resistant prostate cancer, as well as in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for the treatment of solid tumors that harbor Neuregulin 1. The company is also developing MCLA-158, which is in a phase I clinical trial for the treatment of solid tumors; MCLA-145, which is in phase 1 clinical trials for the treatment of solid tumors; MCLA-129, which is in phase 1/2 clinical trials for the treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer and other solid tumors; and ONO-4685 that is Phase 1 clinical trial to treat relapsed/refractory T cell lymphoma. In addition, it has collaboration agreement with Betta Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd for the research and development of stage bispecific antibody candidates include MCLA-129; collaboration with Incyte Corporation for the development of MCLA-145; and collaboration with Gilead Sciences, Inc. to discover novel antibody-based trispecific T-cell engagers. The company was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

About Tenax Therapeutics

Tenax Therapeutics, Inc. develops and commercializes pharmaceutical products containing imatinib for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension in the United States. The company develops TNX-101 (IV), TNX-102, and TNX-103 (levosimendan) that have completed phase II clinical trials for the treatment of patients with pulmonary hypertension associated with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and associated pulmonary hypertension; and TNX-201 (imatinib), a tyrosine kinase inhibitor for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia. The company was formerly known as Oxygen Biotherapeutics, Inc. and changed its name to Tenax Therapeutics, Inc. in September 2014. Tenax Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 1967 and is based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.