Nuvectra Corporation (NASDAQ:NVTR) and AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ACRX) have been rivals in the Medical Appliances & Equipment for quite some time. Below is a review of each business including various aspects such as analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, dividends, earnings and valuation, institutional ownership.

Valuation & Earnings

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nuvectra Corporation	48.83M	4.46	47.15M	-3.09	0.00
AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc.	2.15M	112.41	47.15M	-0.16	0.00

In table 1 we can see Nuvectra Corporation and AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Profitability

Table 2 has Nuvectra Corporation and AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s return on equity, net margins and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nuvectra Corporation	-96.56%	-63.9%	-35.8%
AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc.	-2,193.02%	104.6%	-62.7%

Liquidity

The Current Ratio and a Quick Ratio of Nuvectra Corporation are 7.6 and 7.3. Competitively, AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. has 4.6 and 4.5 for Current and Quick Ratio. Nuvectra Corporation’s better ability to pay short and long-term obligations than AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Analyst Recommendations

Nuvectra Corporation and AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. Ratings and Recommendations are available in the next table.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nuvectra Corporation	0	0	1	3.00
AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc.	0	0	6	3.00

Nuvectra Corporation’s average target price is $18, while its potential upside is 46.34%. Competitively the average target price of AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. is $8.83, which is potential 187.62% upside. The information presented earlier suggests that AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. looks more robust than Nuvectra Corporation as far as analyst belief.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

Roughly 83.1% of Nuvectra Corporation shares are owned by institutional investors while 20.5% of AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. are owned by institutional investors. About 3.1% of Nuvectra Corporation’s share are owned by insiders. Insiders Comparatively, owned 1.7% of AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares.

Performance

Here are the Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Half Yearly, Yearly and YTD Performance of both pretenders.

	Performance (W)	Performance (M)	Performance (Q)	Performance (HY)	Performance (Y)	Performance (YTD)
Nuvectra Corporation	-6.8%	-7.93%	-32.23%	-43.19%	21.49%	-21.11%
AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc.	21.97%	55.69%	13.99%	27.67%	112.78%	65.8%

For the past year Nuvectra Corporation has -21.11% weaker performance while AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. has 65.8% stronger performance.

Nuvectra Corporation, a neuromodulation medical device company, develops and commercializes its neurostimulation technology platform for the treatment of various disorders in neuroscience and clinical markets in Europe. The company offers Algovita spinal cord stimulation system that is used for the treatment of chronic pain of the trunk and limbs. It also provides neural interface systems, including microelectrode arrays, probes, and electrode instrumentation and accessories; and develops Virtis, a sacral nerve stimulation system for the treatment of chronic urinary retention and the symptoms of overactive bladder. The company was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Plano, Texas.

AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapies for the treatment of acute pain. Its lead product candidate is DSUVIA, a 30 mcg sufentanil sublingual tablet, which is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of moderate-to-severe acute pain. The companyÂ’s late-stage investigational product candidate is Zalviso, a pre-programmed and patient-controlled analgesia device that allows hospital patients with moderate-to-severe acute pain to self-dose with sufentanil sublingual tablets to manage their pain. Zalviso is approved in the European Union, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway and Australia, or the Territory; and is under development stage in the United States. The company was formerly known as SuRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed its name to AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in August 2006. AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Redwood City, California.