Analyzing Applied Therapeutics (NASDAQ:APLT) and Opus Genetics (NASDAQ:IRD)

Opus Genetics (NASDAQ:IRD) and Applied Therapeutics (NASDAQ:APLT) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Opus Genetics and Applied Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Opus Genetics	1	1	15	1	2.89
Applied Therapeutics	1	2	0	0	1.67

Opus Genetics currently has a consensus price target of $11.92, suggesting a potential upside of 113.68%. Applied Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $1.00, suggesting a potential upside of 870.87%. Given Applied Therapeutics’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Applied Therapeutics is more favorable than Opus Genetics.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Opus Genetics and Applied Therapeutics”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Opus Genetics	$14.20 million	32.48	-$49.59 million	($1.35)	-4.13
Applied Therapeutics	$1.00 million	15.86	-$105.62 million	($0.10)	-1.03

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

15.0% of Opus Genetics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.3% of Applied Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.7% of Opus Genetics 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 hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Opus Genetics	-1,091.82%	-338.88%	-150.13%
Applied Therapeutics	N/A	-340.84%	-175.00%

Risk and Volatility

Opus Genetics has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its share price is 42% 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

Opus Genetics beats Applied Therapeutics on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Opus Genetics

Opus Genetics Inc. is a clinical-stage ophthalmic biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies for the treatment of unmet needs of patients with refractive and retinal eye disorders. Opus Genetics Inc., formerly known as Ocuphire Pharma Inc., is based in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

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.