Heron Therapeutics, Inc. HRTX

Competitive advantage analysis · healthcare

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
62/100
Moderate

About Heron Therapeutics, Inc.

Heron Therapeutics, Inc., a commercial-stage biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapeutic that enhances medical care. The company's product candidates utilize its proprietary Biochronomer, a drug delivery technology, which delivers therapeutic levels of a range of short-acting pharmacological agents over a period from days to weeks with a single administration. It offers SUSTOL (granisetron), an extended-release injection for the … Full HRTX analysis →

Competitive advantage assessment

Key strengths

  • Revenue Growth Consistent Revenue growth volatility is low (stability score 0.94), suggesting sticky customer base.
  • Cash Generation Consistent Cash generation is consistent (score 0.82), indicating reliable business model.

Key risks

  • Liquidity Concerns Liquidity is concerning (score 0.29), raising questions about short-term obligations.

The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.

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Pricing Power

Moderate
51

Where HRTX ranks in Biotechnology

Heron Therapeutics, Inc. ranks #79 of 713 scored companies in Biotechnology by moat score — the top 11%. The widest moat in the group is Royalty Pharma plc (RPRX) at 85/100.

Moat scores for companies ranked near HRTX in Biotechnology
# Company Moat score Rating
75 Genenta Science S.p.A. GNTA 63/100 Moderate
76 Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc. PLX 63/100 Moderate
77 Champions Oncology, Inc. CSBR 63/100 Moderate
78 Sutro Biopharma, Inc. STRO 62/100 Moderate
79 Heron Therapeutics, Inc. HRTX 62/100 Moderate
80 Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. VNDA 62/100 Moderate
81 Denali Therapeutics Inc. DNLI 62/100 Moderate
82 Monte Rosa Therapeutics, Inc. GLUE 62/100 Moderate
83 ADC Therapeutics SA ADCT 62/100 Moderate

See every Biotech / Pre-Revenue company ranked by moat score →

How HRTX scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 51 · 20% of the moat score

Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.

Cost Advantage

Score 80 · 15% of the moat score

A cost advantage means delivering the same product for structurally less — better purchasing, denser distribution, a more automated process.

Customer Stickiness

Score 87 · 15% of the moat score

Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.

Capital Efficiency

Score 32 · 18% of the moat score

Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.

Resilience

Score 69 · 17% of the moat score

Resilience is the capacity to get through a bad year on its own terms — enough liquidity, enough interest cover, and enough cash generation to avoid a rescue financing or a forced sale.

Scale & Market Position

Score 61 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding HRTX's moat

What is Heron Therapeutics, Inc.'s moat score?

Heron Therapeutics, Inc. (HRTX) scores 62 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #79 of 713 scored companies in Biotechnology, the top 11%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 712 companies in Biotechnology. Its strongest defense is Customer Stickiness (87/100) and its weakest is Capital Efficiency (32/100).

How does Heron Therapeutics, Inc. compare with other Biotechnology companies?

Heron Therapeutics, Inc. ranks #79 of 713 scored companies in Biotechnology by moat score. The widest moat in Biotechnology is Royalty Pharma plc (RPRX) at 85/100. The companies ranked closest are Sutro Biopharma, Inc. (STRO) at 62 just above it and Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VNDA) at 62 just below it.

How is the moat score calculated?

Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Corporate Default in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 712 companies in Biotechnology. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Heron Therapeutics, Inc. scored with the Corporate Default template?

Most public companies sell a product or a service at a margin, so the moat question is whether that margin survives contact with competitors. The Corporate template scores the six defenses that show up in a general operating company's financial signature: whether it can hold price, produce more cheaply than rivals, keep its customers, earn a return above its cost of capital, withstand a downturn, and turn size into economics.

Which competitive defenses are measured for Heron Therapeutics, Inc.?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and HRTX scores: Pricing Power (51), Cost Advantage (80), Customer Stickiness (87), Capital Efficiency (32), Resilience (69), Scale & Market Position (61). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.

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