Both Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX) and Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) compete on a level playing field in the Biotechnology industry. We will evaluate their performance with regards to analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Neurocrine Biosciences Inc.	451.24M	18.11	21.11M	0.18	435.91
Novavax Inc.	34.29M	6.84	184.75M	-0.53	0.00

Table 1 showcases the top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation of Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. and Novavax Inc.

Profitability

Table 2 represents Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ:NBIX) and Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX)’s return on assets, return on equity and net margins.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Neurocrine Biosciences Inc.	4.68%	5.1%	2.4%
Novavax Inc.	-538.79%	179.3%	-66.8%

Risk and Volatility

A beta of 1.86 shows that Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. is 86.00% more volatile than Standard & Poor’s 500. Novavax Inc.’s 129.00% more volatile than Standard & Poor’s 500 which is a result of the 2.29 beta.

Liquidity

Neurocrine Biosciences Inc.’s Current Ratio is 8.4 while its Quick Ratio is 8.2. On the competitive side is, Novavax Inc. which has a 3.4 Current Ratio and a 3.4 Quick Ratio. Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. is better positioned to pay off short and long-term obligations compared to Novavax Inc.

Analyst Recommendations

The following table shown below contains the ratings and recommendations for Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. and Novavax Inc.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Neurocrine Biosciences Inc.	0	3	6	2.67
Novavax Inc.	0	1	4	2.80

Neurocrine Biosciences Inc.’s average price target is $108.75, while its potential upside is 20.85%. Novavax Inc. on the other hand boasts of a $1.35 average price target and a 120.52% potential upside. The information presented earlier suggests that Novavax Inc. looks more robust than Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. as far as analyst view.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

The shares of both Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. and Novavax Inc. are owned by institutional investors at 0% and 42.4% respectively. Neurocrine Biosciences Inc.’s share held by insiders are 1.2%. Comparatively, 1.16% are Novavax Inc.’s share held by insiders.

Performance

In this table we provide 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)
Neurocrine Biosciences Inc.	-2.53%	-10.56%	-11.62%	-35.15%	-6.23%	10.49%
Novavax Inc.	-68.76%	-73.03%	-68.29%	-57.65%	-72.2%	-65.71%

For the past year Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. has 10.49% stronger performance while Novavax Inc. has -65.71% weaker performance.

Summary

On 10 of the 13 factors Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. beats Novavax Inc.

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. discovers and develops pharmaceuticals for the treatment of neurological and endocrine-related diseases and disorders in the United States and internationally. The company’s lead products include INGREZZA (valbenazine), a vesicular monoamine transporter 2 inhibitor (VMAT2) used for the treatment of movement disorders; elagolix, a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist that is in Phase III clinical trials used for women’s health; and opicapone, a catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitor, which is in Phase III clinical trials used for in adjunct therapy and preparations of levodopa/DOPA decarboxylase inhibitors for adult patients with Parkinson’s disease. It is also developing NBI-640756 that is in Phase I clinical trials used for the treatment of essential tremor; and NBI-74788, which is in Phase I clinical trials used for the treatment of classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia. In addition, the company’s research programs comprise VMAT2 Inhibitors for movement disorders, bipolar disorders, and schizophrenia; and G Protein-Coupled Receptors and Ion Channels for epilepsy, essential tremor, pain, and other Indications. It has collaborations with AbbVie Inc. to develop and commercialize elagolix and GnRH antagonists for women’s and men’s health; Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation to develop and commercialize INGREZZA for movement disorders; and BIAL – Portela & Ca, S.A. to develop and commercialize opicapone for the treatment of human diseases and conditions, including Parkinson’s disease. Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Novavax, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of recombinant nanoparticle vaccines and adjuvants. The company develops respiratory syncytial virus fusion protein nanoparticle vaccine candidate for infants via maternal immunization in Phase III development stage; older adults in Phase II development stage; and children six months to five years of age in Phase I development stage. It also develops Ebola GP vaccine in Phase 1 clinical trial; preclinical programs for Zika virus; and seasonal influenza and a combination respiratory vaccine candidate, as well as other infectious disease vaccine candidates. Novavax, Inc. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.