Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZNTL) and Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Head to Head Contrast

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZNTL) and Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, earnings and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

32.5% of Aquestive Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 3.8% of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.8% of Aquestive Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.93, indicating that its stock price is 93% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aquestive Therapeutics has a beta of 1.49, indicating that its stock price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Zentalis Pharmaceuticals and Aquestive Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zentalis Pharmaceuticals	1	3	6	1	2.64
Aquestive Therapeutics	1	0	4	0	2.60

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus price target of $7.50, indicating a potential upside of 252.11%. Aquestive Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $8.60, indicating a potential upside of 127.51%. Given Zentalis Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Zentalis Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Aquestive Therapeutics.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Zentalis Pharmaceuticals and Aquestive Therapeutics”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zentalis Pharmaceuticals	$67.43 million	2.26	-$137.06 million	($1.95)	-1.09
Aquestive Therapeutics	$44.54 million	10.65	-$83.78 million	($0.65)	-5.82

Aquestive Therapeutics has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Zentalis Pharmaceuticals. Aquestive Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Zentalis Pharmaceuticals and Aquestive Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zentalis Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-70.18%	-51.46%
Aquestive Therapeutics	-144.63%	N/A	-52.40%

Summary

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals beats Aquestive Therapeutics on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Zentalis Pharmaceuticals

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of various cancers. Its products candidatures include the ZN-c3, an inhibitor of WEE1, a protein tyrosine kinase for the treatment of inhibitor for advanced solid tumors and hematological malignancies; in Phase 2 clinical trial as a monotherapy for the treatment of uterine serous carcinoma indications; Phase 2 clinical trial in Cyclin E1 driven high-grade serous ovarian cancer, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer; Phase 1/2 clinical trial in combination with PARPi for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer; Phase 1b clinical trial in combination with chemotherapy in platinum-resistant ovarian, and peritoneal or fallopian tube cancer; Phase 1/2 clinical trial in combination with chemotherapy in relapsed or refractory osteosarcoma; Phase 1/2 clinical trial with encorafenib and cetuximab for mutant metastatic colorectal cancer; and Phase 1/2 clinical trial in combination with chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer. The company's products pipeline also includes ZN-d5, an oral small molecule inhibitor of B-cell lymphoma 2, for hematological malignancies and related disorders; and BCL-xL heterobifunctional degrader, a member of the anti-apoptotic BCL-2 proteins, for solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has licensing agreements and strategic collaborations with Recurium IP Holdings, LLC; Pfizer, Inc.; Zentera Therapeutics; Dana-Farber; and GlaxoSmithKline plc. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Aquestive Therapeutics

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. operates as a pharmaceutical company in the United States and internationally. The company markets Sympazan, an oral soluble film formulation of clobazam for the treatment of lennox-gastaut syndrome; Suboxone, a sublingual film formulation of buprenorphine and naloxone for the treatment of opioid dependence; Zuplenz, an oral soluble film formulation of ondansetron for the treatment of nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy and post-operative recovery; and Azstarys, a once-daily product for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Its proprietary product candidates comprise Libervant, a buccal soluble film formulation of diazepam for the treatment of seizures; KYNMOBI, a sublingual film formulation of apomorphine for the treatment of episodic off-periods in Parkinson's disease; and Exservan, an oral soluble film formulation of riluzole for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The company's proprietary pipeline of complex molecule product includes AQST-108, a sublingual film formulation delivering systemic epinephrine for the treatment of conditions other than anaphylaxis; and Anaphylm, an epinephrine sublingual film for the emergency treatment of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. In addition, it develops Adrenaverse, an epinephrine prodrug platform. The company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Warren, New Jersey.