Comparing Fresh Tracks Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FRTX) and Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT)

Fresh Tracks Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FRTX) and Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Fresh Tracks Therapeutics and Editas Medicine’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fresh Tracks Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	N/A
Editas Medicine	-288.59%	-62.61%	-42.31%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Fresh Tracks Therapeutics and Editas Medicine, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fresh Tracks Therapeutics	0	0	0	0	N/A
Editas Medicine	0	7	5	0	2.42

Editas Medicine has a consensus price target of $9.91, indicating a potential upside of 244.07%. Given Editas Medicine’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Editas Medicine is more favorable than Fresh Tracks Therapeutics.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

25.0% of Fresh Tracks Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.9% of Editas Medicine shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Fresh Tracks Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Editas Medicine shares are held 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 Fresh Tracks Therapeutics and Editas Medicine”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fresh Tracks Therapeutics	$10.06 million	0.44	-$5.69 million	($1.41)	-0.52
Editas Medicine	$78.12 million	3.04	-$153.22 million	($2.36)	-1.22

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

Volatility and Risk

Fresh Tracks Therapeutics has a beta of 0.47, indicating that its share price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Editas Medicine has a beta of 2.01, indicating that its share price is 101% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Editas Medicine beats Fresh Tracks Therapeutics on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fresh Tracks Therapeutics

Fresh Tracks Therapeutics, Inc. does not have significant operations. Previously, the company was engaged in the development of various prescription therapeutics for the treatment of autoimmune, inflammatory, and other debilitating diseases in the United States. Fresh Tracks Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.

About Editas Medicine

Editas Medicine, Inc., a clinical stage genome editing company, focuses on developing transformative genomic medicines to treat a range of serious diseases. It develops a proprietary gene editing platform based on CRISPR technology. The company develops EDIT-101, which is in Phase 1/2 BRILLIANCE trial for Leber Congenital Amaurosis; and reni-cel, a clinical development gene-edited medicine to treat sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia. In addition, the company is developing alpha-beta T cells for solid and liquid tumors; and gamma delta T cell therapies to treat cancer. It has a research collaboration with Juno Therapeutics, Inc. to develop engineered T cells for cancer; strategic alliance and option agreement with Allergan Pharmaceuticals International Limited. The company was formerly known as Gengine, Inc. and changed its name to Editas Medicine, Inc. in November 2013. Editas Medicine, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.