Head-To-Head Comparison: Lexaria Bioscience (NASDAQ:LEXX) and Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS)

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) and Lexaria Bioscience (NASDAQ:LEXX) are both medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Zoetis and Lexaria Bioscience’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zoetis	$8.54 billion	8.48	$2.34 billion	$5.07	31.25
Lexaria Bioscience	$230,000.00	131.70	-$6.66 million	($0.68)	-3.46

Zoetis has higher revenue and earnings than Lexaria Bioscience. Lexaria Bioscience is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Zoetis, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

92.8% of Zoetis shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.1% of Lexaria Bioscience shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Zoetis shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 7.6% of Lexaria Bioscience shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Zoetis has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lexaria Bioscience has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Zoetis and Lexaria Bioscience’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zoetis	27.43%	51.25%	17.58%
Lexaria Bioscience	N/A	-133.97%	-118.89%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Zoetis and Lexaria Bioscience, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zoetis	0	0	7	0	3.00
Lexaria Bioscience	0	0	1	0	3.00

Zoetis currently has a consensus target price of $218.00, suggesting a potential upside of 37.61%. Lexaria Bioscience has a consensus target price of $12.00, suggesting a potential upside of 410.64%. Given Lexaria Bioscience’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Lexaria Bioscience is more favorable than Zoetis.

Summary

Zoetis beats Lexaria Bioscience on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Zoetis

Zoetis Inc. engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and commercialization of animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products and services in the United States and internationally. The company commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses. It also offers parasiticides, vaccines, dermatology, other pharmaceutical, anti-infectives, animal health diagnostics, and medicated feed additives. In addition, the company provides animal health diagnostics, including point-of-care diagnostic products, instruments and reagents, rapid immunoassay tests, reference laboratory kits and services, and blood glucose monitors; and other non-pharmaceutical products, which include nutritionals, as well as products and services in biodevices, genetic tests, and precision animal health. It markets its products to veterinarians, livestock producers, and pet owners. The company has collaboration Blacksmith Medicines, Inc. to discover and develop novel antibiotics for animal health. Zoetis Inc. was founded in 1952 and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey.

About Lexaria Bioscience

Lexaria Bioscience Corp. operates as a biotechnology company. It develops and out-licenses its patented drug delivery technology, DehydraTECH, which combines lipophilic molecules or active pharmaceutical ingredients with specific long-chain fatty acids and carrier compounds that improve the way they enter the bloodstream, increasing their effectiveness and allowing for lower overall dosing while promoting healthier oral ingestion methods. The company's DehydraTECH is used with a range of active molecules encompassing fat-soluble vitamins, pain medications, hormones, PDE5 inhibitors, antivirals, oral nicotine and its analogs, and cannabinoids. Its DehydraTECH technology evaluates therapeutic indications, including hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes; and is suitable for a variety of product formats, such as pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, over the counter, and consumer packaged goods. Lexaria Bioscience Corp. was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Kelowna, Canada.