Scilex (NASDAQ:SCLX – Get Free Report) and Atyr PHARMA (NASDAQ:ATYR – Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.
Volatility & Risk
Scilex has a beta of 1.15, meaning that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atyr PHARMA has a beta of 1.21, meaning that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Scilex and Atyr PHARMA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Scilex | -233.88% | N/A | -111.82% |
| Atyr PHARMA | N/A | -65.35% | -49.81% |
Earnings and Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Scilex | $46.74 million | 3.57 | -$114.33 million | ($1.43) | -0.61 |
| Atyr PHARMA | $588,000.00 | 319.23 | -$50.39 million | ($0.90) | -3.02 |
Atyr PHARMA has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Scilex. Atyr PHARMA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Scilex, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Scilex and Atyr PHARMA, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Scilex | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Atyr PHARMA | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3.00 |
Scilex currently has a consensus price target of $11.33, suggesting a potential upside of 1,202.68%. Atyr PHARMA has a consensus price target of $19.25, suggesting a potential upside of 607.72%. Given Scilex’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Scilex is more favorable than Atyr PHARMA.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
69.7% of Scilex shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.7% of Atyr PHARMA shares are held by institutional investors. 8.7% of Scilex shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Atyr PHARMA shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Atyr PHARMA beats Scilex on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Scilex
Scilex Holding Company focuses on acquiring, developing, and commercializing non-opioid pain management products for the treatment of acute and chronic pain. Its commercial products include ZTlido (lidocaine topical system) 1.8% (ZTlido), a prescription lidocaine topical product for the relief of neuropathic pain associated with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), which is a form of post-shingles nerve pain; ELYXYB, a ready-to-use oral solution for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults; and GLOPERBA, a liquid oral version of the anti-gout medicine colchicine indicated for the prophylaxis of painful gout flares in adults. The company is also developing three product candidates, including SP-102 (10 mg dexamethasone sodium phosphate viscous gel) (SEMDEXA), a novel viscous gel formulation of a used corticosteroid for epidural injections, which has completed a Phase 3 study to treat lumbosacral radicular pain or sciatica; SP-103 (lidocaine topical system) 5.4% (SP-103), a formulation of ZTlido for the treatment of chronic neck pain and low back pain (LBP) that has completed a Phase 2 trial; and SP-104 (4.5 mg low-dose naltrexone hydrochloride delayed-release capsules) (SP-104), a novel low-dose delayed-release naltrexone hydrochloride, which has completed Phase 1 trials for the treatment of fibromyalgia. The company is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.
About Atyr PHARMA
aTyr Pharma, Inc., a biotherapeutics company, engages in the discovery and development of medicines based on novel immunological pathways in the United States. Its lead therapeutic candidate is efzofitimod, a selective modulator of NRP2 that is in Phase III clinical trial for pulmonary sarcoidosis; and in Phase 1b/2a clinical trial for treatment of other interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), such as chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis and connective tissue disease related ILD. The company is developing ATYR0101, a fusion protein derived from a domain of aspartyl-tRNA synthetase that is in preclinical development for the treatment of fibrosis; and ATYR0750, a domain of alanyl-tRNA synthetase for the treatment of liver disorders. It has collaboration and license agreement with Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for the development and commercialization of efzofitimod for ILDs in Japan. aTyr Pharma, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
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