Comparing Cronos Group (NASDAQ:CRON) and ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY)

ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY) and Cronos Group (NASDAQ:CRON) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

68.2% of ARS Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 8.7% of Cronos Group shares are held by institutional investors. 33.5% of ARS Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.3% of Cronos Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

ARS Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cronos Group has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for ARS Pharmaceuticals and Cronos Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ARS Pharmaceuticals	1	1	2	0	2.25
Cronos Group	1	2	2	0	2.20

ARS Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus target price of $29.33, indicating a potential upside of 271.31%. Cronos Group has a consensus target price of $2.30, indicating a potential downside of 12.21%. Given ARS Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe ARS Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Cronos Group.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares ARS Pharmaceuticals and Cronos Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ARS Pharmaceuticals	$84.28 million	9.31	-$171.30 million	($1.75)	-4.51
Cronos Group	$146.59 million	6.79	-$9.45 million	($0.01)	-262.00

Cronos Group has higher revenue and earnings than ARS Pharmaceuticals. Cronos Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ARS Pharmaceuticals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares ARS Pharmaceuticals and Cronos Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ARS Pharmaceuticals	-203.25%	-100.29%	-51.09%
Cronos Group	-6.44%	-1.12%	-1.07%

About ARS Pharmaceuticals

ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, develops treatments for severe allergic reactions. The company is developing neffy, a needle-free and low-dose intranasal epinephrine nasal spray for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. It serves healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers. ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About Cronos Group

Cronos Group Inc. operates as a cannabinoid company that engages in the cultivation, production and marketing of cannabis products in Canada, Israel, and Germany. It offers dried flower, pre-rolls, oils, vaporizers, edibles, and cannabis tinctures under the Spinach, Lord Jones, and PEACE NATURALS brands. Cronos Group Inc. was founded in 2012 and is based in Toronto, Canada.