Athersys (NASDAQ:ATHX) and Galera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GRTX) Critical Review

Risk and Volatility

Galera Therapeutics has a beta of 1.96, indicating that its share price is 96% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Athersys has a beta of -0.9, indicating that its share price is 190% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Galera Therapeutics and Athersys”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Galera Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$59.08 million	($0.10)	-0.22
Athersys	$146,000.00	0.00	-$72.53 million	($2.03)	N/A

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

Profitability

This table compares Galera Therapeutics and Athersys’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Galera Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-99.34%
Athersys	N/A	N/A	-223.03%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

50.8% of Galera Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.4% of Athersys shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.9% of Galera Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Athersys shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Galera Therapeutics beats Athersys on 6 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Galera Therapeutics

Galera Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for the transformation of radiotherapy in cancer. The company's lead product candidate is avasopasem manganese (GC4419), a small molecule dismutase mimetic for the treatment of radiotherapy induced severe oral mucositis in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC); for the treatment of radiotherapy-induced esophagitis in patients with lung cancer; and for patients with HNC undergoing standard-of-care radiotherapy. It also develops rucosopasem manganese (rucosopasem) to augment the anti-cancer efficacy of stereotactic body radiation therapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer and locally advanced pancreatic cancer. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

About Athersys

Athersys, Inc., a biotechnology company, focuses on the research and development activities in the field of regenerative medicine. Its clinical development programs are focused on treating neurological conditions, cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory and immune disorders, and pulmonary and other conditions. The company's lead platform product includes MultiStem cell therapy, an allogeneic stem cell product for the treatment of patients suffering from neurological damage from an ischemic stroke, as well as for acute respiratory distress syndrome, trauma complications, HSC transplant support, and other indications. It also develops MultiStem cell therapy to promote tissue repair and healing for animal patients. The company has license and collaboration agreements with Healios K.K. to develop and commercialize MultiStem cell therapy for ischemic stroke, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and ophthalmological indications, as well as for the treatment of liver, kidney, pancreas, and intestinal tissue diseases; and the University of Minnesota to develop MultiStem cell therapy platform. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.