Critical Analysis: Syros Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SYRS) versus Portage Biotech (NASDAQ:ATON)

Syros Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SYRS) and Portage Biotech (NASDAQ:ATON) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

91.5% of Syros Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.4% of Portage Biotech shares are held by institutional investors. 12.3% of Syros Pharmaceuticals shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Syros Pharmaceuticals and Portage Biotech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Syros Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-3,369.56%	-97.04%
Portage Biotech	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Syros Pharmaceuticals and Portage Biotech, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Syros Pharmaceuticals	0	0	0	0	0.00
Portage Biotech	1	0	1	0	2.00

Portage Biotech has a consensus price target of $2.00, indicating a potential upside of 502.41%. Given Portage Biotech’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Portage Biotech is more favorable than Syros Pharmaceuticals.

Risk & Volatility

Syros Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.31, meaning that its share price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Portage Biotech has a beta of 0.49, meaning that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Syros Pharmaceuticals and Portage Biotech”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Syros Pharmaceuticals	$386,000.00	0.02	-$164.57 million	($3.03)	0.00
Portage Biotech	N/A	N/A	-$6.77 million	($8.18)	-0.04

Portage Biotech has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Syros Pharmaceuticals. Portage Biotech is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Syros Pharmaceuticals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About Syros Pharmaceuticals

Syros Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of treatment for hematologic malignancies. The company's lead product candidates are Tamibarotene, a selective retinoic acid receptor alpha agonist, which is in Phase III clinical trial for genomically defined subset of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome and Phase II clinical trial for patients with acute myeloid leukemia; SY-2101, a novel oral form of arsenic trioxide for treating patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia; and SY-5609, a cyclin-dependent kinase 7 inhibitor, which is in a Phase I clinical trial in patients with select advanced solid tumors. The company was formerly known as LS22, Inc. and changed its name to Syros Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in August 2012. Syros Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

About Portage Biotech

Portage Biotech Inc., together with its subsidiaries, researches and develops pharmaceutical and biotechnology products. The company’s product includes IMM60, an iNKT cell activator; IMM65, a PLGA-nanoparticle combined with a NY-ESO-1 peptide vaccine; INT230-6 that is in Phase I/II clinical trials for the treatment of solid tumors; STING, a small molecule that binds to the stimulator of interferon genes in cancer; CellPorter, a cell permeable peptide platform technology derived from human proteins; PPL-003, an ophthalmic solution; and SBI-101, a blood-conditioning technology to restore balance to the immune system after acute vital organ injury, such as acute kidney injury. It also focuses on nanolipogel technology for use in immune-oncology; and antibodies against a novel T-cell for use as a monotherapy and combination therapy for solid and haematological malignancies. In addition, the company develops antibodies implicated in the inflammatory tumor and tumor-infiltrating immune cell microenvironments; and FOXO4-P53 modulator and C-RAF inhibitor. Portage Biotech Inc. is based in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.