Head to Head Comparison: Protalix BioTherapeutics (PLX) vs. Its Competitors

Protalix BioTherapeutics (NYSE:PLX) is one of 844 publicly-traded companies in the “Biotechnology” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare Protalix BioTherapeutics to related companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

Protalix BioTherapeutics has a beta of 0.01, suggesting that its stock price is 99% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Protalix BioTherapeutics’ peers have a beta of -1.84, suggesting that their average stock price is 284% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Protalix BioTherapeutics and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Protalix BioTherapeutics	-21.03%	-30.89%	-11.74%
Protalix BioTherapeutics Competitors	-12,323.33%	-195.91%	-30.60%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Protalix BioTherapeutics and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Protalix BioTherapeutics	0	0	1	0	3.00
Protalix BioTherapeutics Competitors	9873	15284	45615	1598	2.54

Protalix BioTherapeutics currently has a consensus target price of $12.00, suggesting a potential upside of 305.41%. As a group, “Biotechnology” companies have a potential upside of 125.17%. Given Protalix BioTherapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Protalix BioTherapeutics is more favorable than its peers.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

16.5% of Protalix BioTherapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.8% of shares of all “Biotechnology” companies are owned by institutional investors. 6.7% of Protalix BioTherapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 13.1% of shares of all “Biotechnology” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Protalix BioTherapeutics and its peers revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Protalix BioTherapeutics	$84.69 million	$8.31 million	11.84
Protalix BioTherapeutics Competitors	$702.23 million	$9.48 million	-18.96

Protalix BioTherapeutics’ peers have higher revenue and earnings than Protalix BioTherapeutics. Protalix BioTherapeutics is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Protalix BioTherapeutics beats its peers on 7 of the 13 factors compared.

Protalix BioTherapeutics Company Profile

Protalix BioTherapeutics is an Israel-based biopharmaceutical company that develops and manufactures recombinant therapeutic proteins using its proprietary plant-cell expression system, ProCellEx. The company focuses on treatments for rare and chronic diseases and was founded in 1993. Its products include Elelyso (taliglucerase alfa), an enzyme replacement therapy for Gaucher disease, and Elfabrio (pegunigalsidase alfa), an enzyme replacement therapy for Fabry disease. Protalix developed Elfabrio in collaboration with Chiesi Global Rare Diseases; commercialization and distribution are handled through partner arrangements in multiple markets.