Contrasting Cyclo Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CYTH) & Athira Pharma (NASDAQ:ATHA)

Cyclo Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CYTH) and Athira Pharma (NASDAQ:ATHA) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, earnings, risk and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Cyclo Therapeutics and Athira Pharma, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cyclo Therapeutics	0	2	1	0	2.33
Athira Pharma	0	4	0	0	2.00

Cyclo Therapeutics currently has a consensus price target of $0.95, indicating a potential upside of 28.55%. Athira Pharma has a consensus price target of $13.83, indicating a potential upside of 1,996.28%. Given Athira Pharma’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Athira Pharma is more favorable than Cyclo Therapeutics.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Cyclo Therapeutics and Athira Pharma”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cyclo Therapeutics	$1.08 million	19.64	-$20.06 million	($0.88)	-0.84
Athira Pharma	N/A	N/A	-$117.67 million	($2.97)	-0.22

Cyclo Therapeutics has higher revenue and earnings than Athira Pharma. Cyclo Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Athira Pharma, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Cyclo Therapeutics and Athira Pharma’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cyclo Therapeutics	-1,830.27%	-2,741.89%	-269.95%
Athira Pharma	N/A	-95.53%	-76.96%

Risk & Volatility

Cyclo Therapeutics has a beta of -0.38, meaning that its share price is 138% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Athira Pharma has a beta of 2.82, meaning that its share price is 182% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

68.6% of Cyclo Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.1% of Athira Pharma shares are held by institutional investors. 29.8% of Cyclo Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.8% of Athira Pharma shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Cyclo Therapeutics beats Athira Pharma on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cyclo Therapeutics

Cyclo Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company, engages in the development of cyclodextrin-based products for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The company's lead drug candidate is Trappsol Cyclo (hydroxypropyl beta cyclodextrin), an orphan drug, which is in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of Niemann-Pick Type C disease; and in Phase IIb clinical trials for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. It also sells cyclodextrins and related products to the pharmaceutical, nutritional, and other industries, primarily for use in diagnostics and specialty drugs. The company was formerly known as CTD Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Cyclo Therapeutics, Inc. in September 2019. Cyclo Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Gainesville, Florida.

About Athira Pharma

Athira Pharma, Inc., a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing small molecules to restore neuronal health and slow neurodegradation. Its lead product candidate is Fosgonimeton (ATH-1017), a small molecule designed to modulate the neurotrophic hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) system and its receptor, MET, for a healthy nervous system that is in LIFT-AD Phase 2/3 and ACT-AD Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, as well as is in Phase 2 clinical trials to treat Parkinson's disease dementia and Dementia with Lewy bodies. The company's product pipeline includes ATH-1020, an orally available brain-penetrant small molecule designed to enhance the HGF/MET system that is in Phase 1 clinical trials to treat neuropathic pain and neurodegenerative diseases; and ATH-1105, an oral small molecule drug candidate, which is a preclinical model for the treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. In addition, it has a license agreement with Washington State University to offer for sale products covered by certain licensed patents, including dihexa, the chemical compound into which fosgonimeton metabolizes following administration; and collaboration and grant agreement with National Institutes of Health Grant to support ACT-AD Phase 2 clinical trial for fosgonimeton. The company was formerly known as M3 Biotechnology, Inc. and changed its name to Athira Pharma, Inc. in April 2019. Athira Pharma, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Bothell, Washington.