Reviewing Taysha Gene Therapies (NASDAQ:TSHA) & Acura Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:ACUR)

Taysha Gene Therapies (NASDAQ:TSHA) and Acura Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:ACUR) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Taysha Gene Therapies and Acura Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Taysha Gene Therapies	-1,144.97%	-78.44%	-44.82%
Acura Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider and Institutional Ownership

77.7% of Taysha Gene Therapies shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.8% of Taysha Gene Therapies shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.2% of Acura Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Taysha Gene Therapies and Acura Pharmaceuticals”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Taysha Gene Therapies	$8.33 million	106.43	-$89.30 million	($0.34)	-9.56
Acura Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Acura Pharmaceuticals has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Taysha Gene Therapies.

Risk & Volatility

Taysha Gene Therapies has a beta of 0.98, indicating that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acura Pharmaceuticals has a beta of -1.96, indicating that its stock price is 296% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Taysha Gene Therapies and Acura Pharmaceuticals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Taysha Gene Therapies	0	0	8	0	3.00
Acura Pharmaceuticals	0	0	0	0	0.00

Taysha Gene Therapies presently has a consensus target price of $8.29, indicating a potential upside of 154.95%. Given Taysha Gene Therapies’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Taysha Gene Therapies is more favorable than Acura Pharmaceuticals.

Summary

Taysha Gene Therapies beats Acura Pharmaceuticals on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Taysha Gene Therapies

Taysha Gene Therapies, Inc., a gene therapy company, focuses on developing and commercializing adeno-associated virus-based gene therapies for the treatment of monogenic diseases of the central nervous system. It primarily develops TSHA-120 for the treatment of giant axonal neuropathy; TSHA-102 for the treatment of Rett syndrome; TSHA-121 for the treatment of CLN7 disease; TSHA-118 for the treatment of CLN1 disease; TSHA-105 for the treatment of for SLC13A5 deficiency; TSHA-113 for the treatment of tauopathies; TSHA-106 for the treatment of angelman syndrome; TSHA-114 for the treatment of fragile X syndrome; and TSHA-101 for the treatment of GM2 gangliosidosis. Taysha Gene Therapies, Inc. has a strategic partnership with The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Taysha Gene Therapies, Inc. was incorporated in 2019 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

About Acura Pharmaceuticals

Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc., an innovative drug delivery company, engages in the research, development, and commercialization of technologies and products to address safe use of medications in the United States. It offers Oxaydo tablets, a Schedule II narcotic indicated for the management of acute and chronic moderate to severe pain; and Nexafed products, which are pseudoephedrine and acetaminophen tablets that are used as nasal decongestants in various non-prescription and prescription cold, sinus, and allergy products. Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has collaboration and license agreements with Egalet US, Inc. and Egalet Ltd. to manufacture and commercialize Oxaydo products worldwide; and development and commercialization agreement with Abuse Deterrent Pharma, LLC to develop LTX-03, an immediate-release tablets utilizing LIMITx technology. The company was formerly known as Halsey Drug Co., Inc. The company was incorporated in 1935 and is based in Palatine, Illinois. Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Abuse Deterrent Pharma, LLC.