Evoke Pharma (NASDAQ:EVOK) vs. Xenetic Biosciences (NASDAQ:XBIO) Critical Analysis

Xenetic Biosciences (NASDAQ:XBIO) and Evoke Pharma (NASDAQ:EVOK) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

Xenetic Biosciences has a beta of 2.24, indicating that its share price is 124% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Evoke Pharma has a beta of 0.38, indicating that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

15.1% of Xenetic Biosciences shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.0% of Xenetic Biosciences shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.1% of Evoke Pharma shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Xenetic Biosciences and Evoke Pharma, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Xenetic Biosciences	0	1	0	0	2.00
Evoke Pharma	0	0	0	0	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Xenetic Biosciences and Evoke Pharma”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Xenetic Biosciences	$2.54 million	2.42	-$4.14 million	($2.93)	-1.36
Evoke Pharma	$5.18 million	0.68	-$7.79 million	($1.83)	-2.36

Xenetic Biosciences has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Evoke Pharma. Evoke Pharma is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Xenetic Biosciences, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Xenetic Biosciences and Evoke Pharma’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Xenetic Biosciences	-186.39%	-51.05%	-45.83%
Evoke Pharma	-86.74%	-964.25%	-66.09%

Summary

Xenetic Biosciences beats Evoke Pharma on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Xenetic Biosciences

Xenetic Biosciences, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on progressing XCART, a personalized CAR T platform technology engineered to target patient-specific tumor neoantigens. The Company is initially advancing cell-based therapeutics targeting the unique B-cell receptor on the surface of an individual patient’s malignant tumor cells for the treatment of B-cell lymphomas. XCART has the potential to fuel a robust pipeline of therapeutic assets targeting high-value oncology indications.

About Evoke Pharma

Evoke Pharma, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, primarily focuses on the development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of gastroenterological disorders and diseases. It offers Gimoti, a metoclopramide nasal spray to treat symptoms associated with acute and recurrent diabetic gastroparesis in adults. The company markets its products to gastroenterologists, internal medicine specialists, primary care physicians, and select health care providers. Evoke Pharma, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Solana Beach, California.