Head-To-Head Review: Praxis Precision Medicines (NASDAQ:PRAX) & Atrinsic (NASDAQ:PTIX)
by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets DailyPraxis Precision Medicines (NASDAQ:PRAX – Get Free Report) and Atrinsic (NASDAQ:PTIX – Get Free Report) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and analyst recommendations.
Profitability
This table compares Praxis Precision Medicines and Atrinsic’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Praxis Precision Medicines | N/A | -66.90% | -60.30% |
| Atrinsic | N/A | N/A | -379.72% |
Insider and Institutional Ownership
67.8% of Praxis Precision Medicines shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 8.0% of Atrinsic shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.7% of Praxis Precision Medicines shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.0% of Atrinsic shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings for Praxis Precision Medicines and Atrinsic, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Praxis Precision Medicines | 2 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 2.94 |
| Atrinsic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Praxis Precision Medicines presently has a consensus target price of $436.67, indicating a potential upside of 42.78%. Given Praxis Precision Medicines’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Praxis Precision Medicines is more favorable than Atrinsic.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Praxis Precision Medicines and Atrinsic”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Praxis Precision Medicines | $8.55 million | 901.05 | -$182.82 million | ($12.90) | -23.71 |
| Atrinsic | N/A | N/A | -$5.53 million | ($7.95) | -0.07 |
Atrinsic has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Praxis Precision Medicines. Praxis Precision Medicines is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Atrinsic, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk & Volatility
Praxis Precision Medicines has a beta of 2.85, meaning that its stock price is 185% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atrinsic has a beta of 0.51, meaning that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Praxis Precision Medicines beats Atrinsic on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Praxis Precision Medicines
Praxis Precision Medicines, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of therapies for central nervous system disorders characterized by neuronal excitation-inhibition imbalance. It is developing ulixacaltamide, a small molecule inhibitor of T-type calcium channels that is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of essential tremor; PRAX-562 for the treatment of pediatric patients with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEE); and PRAX-628 to treat focal epilepsy. The company also develops PRAX-222 for the treatment of pediatric patients with early-onset SCN2A-DEE; PRAX-020 to treat KCNT1 related epilepsies; PRAX-080 for the treatment of PCDH19; and PRAX-090 and PRAX-100 for SYNGAP1 and SCN2A-LoF. It has a license agreement with RogCon Inc.; a research collaboration and license agreement with Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; a strategic collaboration and license agreement with UCB Biopharma SRL; and collaboration with The Florey Institute to develop three novel ASOs. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts.
About Atrinsic
Protagenic Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery and development of therapeutics to treat stress-related neuropsychiatric and mood disorders. Its lead compound comprises PT00114, a synthetic form of teneurin carboxy-terminal associated peptide, an endogenous brain signaling peptide that can dampen overactive stress responses. Protagenic Therapeutics, Inc. is headquartered in New York, New York.