Financial Analysis: Ovid Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OVID) & Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CYCC)

Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CYCC) and Ovid Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OVID) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals and Ovid Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals	-18,150.00%	-1,901.11%	-188.23%
Ovid Therapeutics	-5,142.56%	-39.24%	-26.19%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals and Ovid Therapeutics”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals	$420,000.00	1.91	-$22.56 million	($9.40)	-0.04
Ovid Therapeutics	$567,695.00	132.59	-$52.34 million	($0.47)	-2.26

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

23.6% of Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.2% of Ovid Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 8.0% of Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.3% of Ovid Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.56, suggesting that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ovid Therapeutics has a beta of 0.41, suggesting that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals and Ovid Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals	0	2	1	0	2.33
Ovid Therapeutics	0	2	4	1	2.86

Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus price target of $11.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2,841.18%. Ovid Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $4.04, suggesting a potential upside of 281.13%. Given Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals’ higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Ovid Therapeutics.

Summary

Ovid Therapeutics beats Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals

Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops medicines for the treatment of cancer and other proliferative diseases in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's lead product includes fadraciclib, a cyclin dependent kinase Inhibitors (CDK) that is in Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of solid tumors and hematological malignancies, as well as in combination with venetoclax to treat relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia; and Plogosertib, a polo-like kinase inhibitor program, which is in Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of advanced solid tumors and hematological malignancies. It has a clinical collaboration agreement with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to clinically evaluate the safety and efficacy of three cyclacel medicines in patients with hematological malignancies, including chronic lymphocytic leukemias, acute myeloid leukemias, myelodysplastic syndromes, and other advanced leukemias. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey.

About Ovid Therapeutics

Ovid Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of impactful medicines for patients and families with epilepsies and seizure-related neurological disorders in the United States. The company is developing soticlestat, a novel cholesterol 24 hydroxylase inhibitor, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the potential treatment of patients with resistant epilepsies; OV329, a GABA aminotransferase inhibitor which is in Phase 1 clinical trials for the treatment of seizures associated with tuberous sclerosis complex and infantile spasms; and OV350, a small molecule direct activator of the KCC2 transporter, which is in Phase 1 clinical trials for treating epilepsies. It also develops OV815, that focuses on the mutations associated with KIF1A-associated neurological disorder (KAND); OV888 (GV101), a highly selective rock2 inhibitor which is in Phase 1 double-blind multiple-ascending dose trial; OV825, has advanced to potential candidate lead identification for the rare neurodevelopmental condition HNRNPH2 (Bain Syndrome); and OV882, a short hairpin RNA gene therapy for the treatment of Angelman syndrome. The company has license and collaboration agreements with Healx, AstraZeneca AB, H. Lundbeck A/S, Northwestern University, and Graviton, as well as Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in New York, New York.