Head to Head Analysis: PURE Bioscience (OTCMKTS:PURE) versus ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ)

PURE Bioscience (OTCMKTS:PURE) and ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for PURE Bioscience and ARQ, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PURE Bioscience	0	0	0	0	N/A
ARQ	0	0	0	0	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

18.5% of ARQ shares are owned by institutional investors. 41.8% of PURE Bioscience shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 22.2% of ARQ shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PURE Bioscience	$1.87 million	4.50	-$3.96 million	($0.06)	-1.25
ARQ	$99.18 million	2.14	-$12.25 million	($0.27)	-21.78

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

Volatility and Risk

PURE Bioscience has a beta of 0.12, indicating that its stock price is 88% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ARQ has a beta of 1.42, indicating that its stock price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares PURE Bioscience and ARQ’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PURE Bioscience	-191.92%	-717.03%	-330.11%
ARQ	-8.15%	-4.65%	-3.51%

Summary

ARQ beats PURE Bioscience on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PURE Bioscience

PURE Bioscience, Inc. develops and commercializes antimicrobial products that provide solutions to the health and environmental challenges of pathogen and hygienic control in the United States and internationally. The company manufactures and distributes silver dihydrogen citrate (SDC), a non-toxic antimicrobial agent, which offers residual protection, as well as formulates with other compounds. It offers SDC-based disinfecting and sanitizing products, including PURE Hard Surface, a food contact surface sanitizer and disinfectant; PURE Control, a food contact processing aid for fresh produce and raw poultry; PURE Multi-Purpose and Floor Cleaner Concentrate to clean various resilient surfaces, including floors, glass, and food contact surfaces; and PURE Multi-Purpose Hi-Foam Cleaner Concentrate to clean stainless steel equipment, resilient floors, walls, and painted surfaces. The company also provides Axen30, a hard surface disinfectant; Axenohl, an antimicrobial formulation for use as a raw material ingredient in the manufacturing of consumer and commercial disinfecting and sanitizing products; and SILVÉRION, an antimicrobial formulation that is used against bacteria, viruses, yeasts, and molds. PURE Bioscience, Inc. was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, California.

About ARQ

Arq, Inc. produces activated carbon products in North America. The company's products include granular activated carbon, powdered and granular activated carbon, and colloidal carbon products; Arq Powder Wetcake, a fine and low-ash coal waste-derived particle; and additives for air emissions control. Its products are used in various applications, including water treatment, ground water remediation, soil sediments, air emissions, and asphalt additives. The company was formerly known as Advanced Emissions Solutions, Inc. and changed its name to Arq, Inc. in February 2024. Arq, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.