Milestone Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MIST – Get Free Report) and Cocrystal Pharma (NASDAQ:COCP – Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, dividends and analyst recommendations.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
86.2% of Milestone Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.7% of Cocrystal Pharma shares are held by institutional investors. 10.4% of Milestone Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 25.1% of Cocrystal Pharma shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings for Milestone Pharmaceuticals and Cocrystal Pharma, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Milestone Pharmaceuticals | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.75 |
| Cocrystal Pharma | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Milestone Pharmaceuticals and Cocrystal Pharma’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Milestone Pharmaceuticals | $1.00 million | 83.45 | -$59.69 million | ($1.39) | -1.13 |
| Cocrystal Pharma | N/A | N/A | -$17.98 million | ($1.99) | -0.78 |
Cocrystal Pharma has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Milestone Pharmaceuticals. Milestone Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cocrystal Pharma, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Milestone Pharmaceuticals and Cocrystal Pharma’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Milestone Pharmaceuticals | N/A | -170.99% | -64.45% |
| Cocrystal Pharma | N/A | -59.62% | -54.62% |
Volatility and Risk
Milestone Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.77, meaning that its stock price is 77% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cocrystal Pharma has a beta of 1.34, meaning that its stock price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500.
About Milestone Pharmaceuticals
Milestone Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of cardiovascular medicines. The company's lead product candidate is etripamil, a novel and potent calcium channel blocker, which is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia in the United States and Canada; and Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of atrial fibrillation and rapid ventricular rate. It has a license and collaboration agreement with Ji Xing Pharmaceuticals to develop and commercialize etripamil prophylactic and therapeutic uses in humans, as well as with the Montreal Heart Institute, the WCN network, and other research centers. The company was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Montréal, Canada.
About Cocrystal Pharma
Cocrystal Pharma, Inc., a biotechnology company, focuses on the discovery and development of antiviral therapeutic treatments for serious and/or chronic viral diseases. It employs structure-based technologies to create antiviral drugs primarily to treat hepatitis C virus (HCV), influenza virus, coronavirus, and norovirus infections. The company develops CC-31244, a HCV non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitor that has completed Phase II a clinical trial to treat HCV infection; and CC-42344, a PB2 inhibitor that has completed Phase I clinical trial for treating influenza infection. It is also involved in identifying and developing non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitors for norovirus infections. Cocrystal Pharma, Inc. has a license and research collaboration agreement with Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. to discover and develop proprietary influenza A/B antiviral agents; and a license agreement with Kansas State University Research Foundation to develop antiviral compounds for the treatment of norovirus and coronavirus infections. The company is headquartered in Bothell, Washington.
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