ALKS vs HRMY: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: HRMY is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. ALKS and HRMY share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined ALKS and HRMY exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Alkermes plc is an Ireland-domiciled, Nasdaq-listed biopharmaceutical company focused on the central nervous system. Its commercial base spans Vivitrol (extended-release naltrexone for alcohol and opioid dependence), Aristada (long-acting injectable for schizophrenia), and Lybalvi (an oral olanzapine/samidorphan combination for schizophrenia and bipolar I). In February 2026 it acquired Avadel Pharmaceuticals, adding Lumryz, a once-nightly sodium oxybate for narcolepsy, which broadened the portfolio into sleep medicine. The company is profitable on an adjusted basis and generates meaningful operating cash flow, which it uses to fund its pipeline rather than relying heavily on dilution.

Full ALKS guide

Harmony Biosciences Holdings is a commercial-stage neuroscience company based in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, that licensed pitolisant from the French firm Bioprojet in 2017 and brought it to the U.S. market as WAKIX in 2019. WAKIX is a histamine H3 receptor antagonist and inverse agonist, and it is the only FDA-approved narcolepsy treatment that is not a scheduled controlled substance, which matters commercially because prescribers and patients avoid the paperwork and stigma attached to oxybate and stimulant options. Approvals have widened over time: excessive daytime sleepiness in adults in 2019, cataplexy in adults in 2020, and pediatric patients aged six and up in 2024 and 2026. The company reports a single segment, sells only in the United States, and had roughly 8,950 average patients on therapy in the second quarter of 2026 against a U.S. diagnosed narcolepsy population it estimates at about 80,000.

Full HRMY guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• ALKS drivers: Orexin pipeline optionality; Cash-generative commercial base.
• HRMY drivers: WAKIX is still accelerating in year seven; The pitolisant franchise extension is the answer to 2030.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Clinical outcomes are binary: a Phase 3 setback for alixorexton would remove the main growth thesis and could sharply reset the valuation. For HRMY, one product carries the entire company, and its exclusivity has a date on it: WAKIX runs to March 2030 including the pediatric extension, and six of the seven ANDA filers (Lupin, Novugen, Novitium, Hikma, Annora and MSN) have already settled to license dates in 2030, which makes generic entry scheduled rather than hypothetical.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick ALKS if you believe its drivers more; HRMY if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the ALKS and HRMY guides.

ALKS. First-quarter 2026 revenue of roughly $393 million rose about 28% year over year, helped by product growth and the newly consolidated Lumryz, though the quarter showed a GAAP net loss partly reflecting Avadel deal costs. Adjusted EBITDA of around $80 million underscores the underlying profitability of the marketed portfolio. At an approximately $8.5 billion market cap on roughly $1.5 billion of trailing revenue, the market is pricing in meaningful pipeline value beyond the current product base.

HRMY. Netting out the balance sheet leaves an enterprise value near $1.4B against ~$960M of trailing revenue and ~$181M of net income, which is roughly 1.5 times sales and under 8 times earnings for a business growing 30%. That gap is not an oversight by the market; it is the discount attached to a single product with a 2030 expiry date and a live patent case. Whether the multiple is cheap or correct depends entirely on how much of the pipeline lands, and the first pivotal readouts do not arrive until 2027.

Headline figures (approximate, July 2026): ALKS shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.5B, q1 2026 revenue ~$393M (+28% YoY), q1 2026 adj. ebitda ~$80M, q1 2026 gaap net loss ~$(67)M; HRMY shows revenue (ttm) ~$959.9M, all from WAKIX, net income (ttm) ~$181.3M, diluted eps (ttm) ~$3.09, p/e (trailing) ~12x on a ~$2.22B market cap.

ALKS and HRMY are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined ALKS and HRMY exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.