MediciNova (MNOV) Competitors

MediciNova (NASDAQ:MNOV) and Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, community ranking, profitability, media sentiment, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and institutional ownership.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor MNOV or AKBA?

Akebia Therapeutics received 204 more outperform votes than MediciNova when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 63.79% of users gave Akebia Therapeutics an outperform vote while only 48.84% of users gave MediciNova an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
MediciNova	Outperform Votes 210 48.84%	Underperform Votes 220 51.16%
Akebia Therapeutics	Outperform Votes 414 63.79%	Underperform Votes 235 36.21%

Do insiders & institutionals believe in MNOV or AKBA?

9.9% of MediciNova shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.9% of Akebia Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 14.9% of MediciNova shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.1% of Akebia Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is MNOV or AKBA more profitable?

MediciNova has a net margin of 0.00% compared to Akebia Therapeutics' net margin of -27.07%. Akebia Therapeutics' return on equity of 0.00% beat MediciNova's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MediciNova	N/A	-17.55%	-16.62%
Akebia Therapeutics	-27.07%	N/A	-20.57%

Do analysts recommend MNOV or AKBA?

MediciNova presently has a consensus price target of $9.00, suggesting a potential upside of 314.75%. Akebia Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $7.50, suggesting a potential upside of 309.84%. Given MediciNova's higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe MediciNova is more favorable than Akebia Therapeutics.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MediciNova	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Akebia Therapeutics	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Which has more risk and volatility, MNOV or AKBA?

MediciNova has a beta of 0.84, suggesting that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Akebia Therapeutics has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer MNOV or AKBA?

In the previous week, Akebia Therapeutics had 2 more articles in the media than MediciNova. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Akebia Therapeutics and 2 mentions for MediciNova. MediciNova's average media sentiment score of 0.37 beat Akebia Therapeutics' score of -0.15 indicating that MediciNova is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
MediciNova	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Akebia Therapeutics	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has better earnings & valuation, MNOV or AKBA?

MediciNova has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Akebia Therapeutics. MediciNova is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Akebia Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MediciNova	$1M	106.44	-$8.56M	-$0.21	-10.33
Akebia Therapeutics	$169.88M	2.35	-$51.92M	-$0.23	-7.96

Summary

MediciNova beats Akebia Therapeutics on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.