Reviewing Protalix BioTherapeutics (NYSE:PLX) & Cortexyme (NASDAQ:CRTX)

Protalix BioTherapeutics (NYSE:PLX) and Cortexyme (NASDAQ:CRTX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

Protalix BioTherapeutics has a beta of -0.21, suggesting that its stock price is 121% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cortexyme has a beta of 1.4, suggesting that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

16.5% of Protalix BioTherapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.2% of Cortexyme shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.5% of Protalix BioTherapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 27.9% of Cortexyme shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Protalix BioTherapeutics and Cortexyme’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Protalix BioTherapeutics	-21.03%	-30.89%	-11.74%
Cortexyme	N/A	-70.96%	-63.53%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Protalix BioTherapeutics and Cortexyme, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Protalix BioTherapeutics	0	0	1	0	3.00
Cortexyme	0	0	0	0	0.00

Protalix BioTherapeutics currently has a consensus target price of $15.00, indicating a potential upside of 831.68%. Given Protalix BioTherapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Protalix BioTherapeutics is more favorable than Cortexyme.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Protalix BioTherapeutics and Cortexyme”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Protalix BioTherapeutics	$59.76 million	2.14	$8.31 million	$0.04	40.25
Cortexyme	N/A	N/A	-$89.94 million	($2.97)	-0.56

Protalix BioTherapeutics has higher revenue and earnings than Cortexyme. Cortexyme is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Protalix BioTherapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Protalix BioTherapeutics beats Cortexyme on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Protalix BioTherapeutics

Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development, production, and commercialization of recombinant therapeutic proteins based on its proprietary ProCellEx plant cell-based protein expression system in the United States, Australia, Canada, Israel, Brazil, Russia, Turkey, and internationally. The company offers Elelyso for the treatment of Gaucher disease; and Elfabrio for the treatment of adult patients with a confirmed diagnosis of Fabry disease. It is also developing PRX-115, a plant cell-expressed recombinant PEGylated Uricase which is in Phase I trial for the treatment of gout; and PRX-119, a plant cell-expressed PEGylated recombinant human DNase I product candidate that is in preclinical phase for the treatment of NETs-related diseases. The company has agreements and partnerships with Pfizer; Fundação Oswaldo Cruz; and Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A. The company was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Karmiel, Israel. Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc. is a subsidiary of Protalix Ltd.

About Cortexyme

Cortexyme, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing therapeutics for Alzheimer's and other degenerative diseases. Its lead drug candidate is atuzaginstat (COR388), an orally administered brain-penetrating small molecule gingipain inhibitor, which is in Phase II/III clinical trial for use in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, as well as for the treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma, periodontitis, and coronavirus infection. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.