Head-To-Head Analysis: Atea Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVIR) vs. MIRA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MIRA)

MIRA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MIRA) and Atea Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVIR) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares MIRA Pharmaceuticals and Atea Pharmaceuticals”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MIRA Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	-$7.85 million	($1.53)	-0.79
Atea Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	-$168.38 million	($1.77)	-2.66

Atea Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MIRA Pharmaceuticals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares MIRA Pharmaceuticals and Atea Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MIRA Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-236.29%	-213.97%
Atea Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-38.43%	-35.88%

Risk and Volatility

MIRA Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.8, meaning that its stock price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atea Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.24, meaning that its stock price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for MIRA Pharmaceuticals and Atea Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MIRA Pharmaceuticals	1	0	1	0	2.00
Atea Pharmaceuticals	1	1	1	1	2.50

Atea Pharmaceuticals has a consensus target price of $6.00, indicating a potential upside of 27.25%. Given Atea Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Atea Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than MIRA Pharmaceuticals.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

35.2% of MIRA Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.7% of Atea Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. 6.7% of MIRA Pharmaceuticals shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.1% of Atea Pharmaceuticals shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Atea Pharmaceuticals beats MIRA Pharmaceuticals on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MIRA Pharmaceuticals

MIRA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. operates as a pre-clinical-stage pharmaceutical development company with two neuroscience programs targeting a range of neurologic and neuropsychiatric disorders. The company holds exclusive U.S., Canadian, and Mexican rights for Ketamir-2, a patent pending oral ketamine analog under investigation to deliver ultra-rapid antidepressant effects for individuals battling treatment-resistant depression, major depressive disorder with suicidal ideation, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, its oral pharmaceutical marijuana, MIRA-55, is under investigation for treating adult patients suffering from anxiety and cognitive decline, often associated with early-stage dementia. The company was formerly known as MIRA1a Therapeutics, Inc. MIRA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was incorporated in 2020 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

About Atea Pharmaceuticals

Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes antiviral therapeutics for patients with viral infections. Its lead product candidate is AT-527, an oral antiviral candidate that is in Phase 3 SUNRISE-3 clinical trial for the treatment of patients with COVID-19. The company also develops bemnifosbuvir in combination with ruzasvir, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial, for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV); and a protease inhibitor for the treatment of COVID-19. It has a license agreement with MSD International GmbH for the development, manufacture, and commercialization of Ruzasvir, an NS5A inhibitor, for the treatment of HCV. Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.