Critical Review: Cyclerion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CYCN) & BeyondSpring (NASDAQ:BYSI)

BeyondSpring (NASDAQ:BYSI) and Cyclerion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CYCN) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends and valuation.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares BeyondSpring and Cyclerion Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BeyondSpring	N/A	N/A	-$11.12 million	($0.15)	-10.07
Cyclerion Therapeutics	$2.00 million	2.71	-$3.06 million	($0.75)	-1.84

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

40.3% of BeyondSpring shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.6% of Cyclerion Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 29.3% of BeyondSpring shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 34.3% of Cyclerion Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for BeyondSpring and Cyclerion Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BeyondSpring	1	0	0	0	1.00
Cyclerion Therapeutics	1	0	0	0	1.00

Profitability

This table compares BeyondSpring and Cyclerion Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BeyondSpring	N/A	N/A	N/A
Cyclerion Therapeutics	-77.02%	-24.61%	-22.43%

Volatility & Risk

BeyondSpring has a beta of 0.55, meaning that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cyclerion Therapeutics has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Cyclerion Therapeutics beats BeyondSpring on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BeyondSpring

BeyondSpring Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, together with its subsidiaries, focuses on the development of cancer therapies. The company's lead asset is the Plinabulin, a selective immunomodulating microtubule-binding agent that has completed Phase III clinical trials for treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); and as an anti-cancer agent, as well as for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. It is also developing Plinabulin in combination with docetaxel vs. docetaxel alone for the treatment of NSCLC and epidermal growth factor receptor wild type. In addition, the company develops Plinabulin in combination with various immuno-oncology agents and chemotherapy or radiation, including; nivolumab, a PD-1 antibody that is has completed phase 1 clinical trials for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer; ipilimumab, a CTLA-4 antibody for the treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer; in combination with PD-1 or PD-L1 antibodies and radiation for the treatment of various cancers; and pembrolizumab, etoposide, and platinum to treat extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. Further, it engages in the development of three small molecule immune agents in preclinical stages; and a drug discovery platform to develop therapeutic agents from internal research and development efforts and from collaboration. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey.

About Cyclerion Therapeutics

Cyclerion Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, develops treatments for serious diseases. It is developing Olinciguat, an orally administered vascular soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulator, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial to out-license for cardiovascular diseases; and Praliciguat, a systemic sGC stimulator that is licensed to Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. for the treatment of rare kidney disease. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.