Analyzing Cartesian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RNAC) and Applied Therapeutics (NASDAQ:APLT)

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Cartesian Therapeutics and Applied Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cartesian Therapeutics	1	0	4	0	2.60
Applied Therapeutics	1	3	0	0	1.75

Cartesian Therapeutics currently has a consensus price target of $38.50, indicating a potential upside of 490.49%. Applied Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $1.25, indicating a potential upside of 1,113.59%. Given Applied Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Applied Therapeutics is more favorable than Cartesian Therapeutics.

Profitability

This table compares Cartesian Therapeutics and Applied Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cartesian Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-11.95%
Applied Therapeutics	N/A	-340.84%	-175.00%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

87.0% of Cartesian Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.3% of Applied Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 60.3% of Cartesian Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Applied Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Cartesian Therapeutics and Applied Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cartesian Therapeutics	$38.91 million	4.36	-$77.42 million	($1.56)	-4.18
Applied Therapeutics	$1.00 million	15.86	-$105.62 million	($0.10)	-1.03

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

Volatility and Risk

Cartesian Therapeutics has a beta of 0.45, meaning that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Applied Therapeutics has a beta of 2.08, meaning that its share price is 108% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Cartesian Therapeutics beats Applied Therapeutics on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cartesian Therapeutics

Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in the provision of mRNA cell therapies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. It develops Descartes-08, an autologous anti-BCMA RNA-engineered chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, currently under Phase 2b clinical development for generalized myasthenia gravis, as well as for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, and myeloma autoimmune basket trials for other autoimmune diseases. The company develops Descartes-15 to treat Autoimmune diseases, myeloma; and Descartes-33 which is in preclinical development for treatment of autoimmune diseases. Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

About Applied Therapeutics

Applied Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of a pipeline of novel product candidates against validated molecular targets in indications of high unmet medical need in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is AT-007 (also called govorestat) that has completed phase 3 for the treatment of galactosemia in healthy volunteers and adults, in pediatric clinical study for the treatment of galactosemia in kids, for treating enzyme sorbitol dehydrogenase, and for the treatment of phosphomannomutase enzyme-CDG. It also develops AT-001 (also called caficrestat) that is in phase 3 clinical trials to treat diabetic cardiomyopathy, as well as for the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy; and AT-003, which is in preclinical studies for the treatment diabetic retinopathy. The company has exclusive license and supply agreement with Mercury Pharma Group Limited to commercialize drug products containing AT-007. Applied Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in New York, New York.