Financial Review: Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ARCT) vs. Zenas BioPharma (NASDAQ:ZBIO)

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

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Zenas BioPharma and Arcturus Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zenas BioPharma	$10.00 million	207.19	-$377.74 million	($8.47)	-3.87
Arcturus Therapeutics	$82.03 million	2.00	-$65.78 million	($2.81)	-2.05

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Zenas BioPharma and Arcturus Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zenas BioPharma	1	2	6	0	2.56
Arcturus Therapeutics	1	3	6	1	2.64

Zenas BioPharma presently has a consensus target price of $44.29, indicating a potential upside of 34.94%. Arcturus Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $24.25, indicating a potential upside of 321.01%. Given Arcturus Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Arcturus Therapeutics is more favorable than Zenas BioPharma.

Volatility & Risk

Zenas BioPharma has a beta of -0.96, suggesting that its stock price is 196% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Arcturus Therapeutics has a beta of 2.37, suggesting that its stock price is 137% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Zenas BioPharma and Arcturus Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zenas BioPharma	N/A	-99.99%	-58.06%
Arcturus Therapeutics	-143.80%	-36.55%	-28.40%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

94.5% of Arcturus Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 22.0% of Zenas BioPharma shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.8% of Arcturus Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Arcturus Therapeutics beats Zenas BioPharma on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Zenas BioPharma

Zenas BioPharma, Inc. is a clinical-stage global biopharmaceutical company, which engages in the development and commercialization of transformative immunology-based therapies for patients. The company was founded by Lonnie O. Moulder Jr on November 12, 2019 and is headquartered in Waltham, MA.

About Arcturus Therapeutics

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc., a late-stage clinical messenger RNA medicines and vaccine company, focuses on the development of infectious disease vaccines and other products within liver and respiratory rare diseases. Its technology platforms include LUNAR lipid-mediated delivery and STARR mRNA. The company is developing ARCT-810 (LUNAR-OTC), a mRNA-based therapeutic candidate, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial for treating ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency; and ARCT-154 (LUNAR-COV19), a mRNA vaccine candidate that is in Phase 3 arm of a Phase 1/2/3 study in Vietnam for the treatment of COVID-19, as well as ARCT-032 (LUNAR-CF), a mRNA therapeutic candidate for cystic fibrosis. Its product pipeline includes, ARCT-2301 for bivalent: ancestral/omicron which is in Phase 3; ARCT-2303 for monovalent that is in Phase 3; ARCT-2138 for quadrivalent which is in Phase 1; and LUNAR-FLU which is in pre-clinical trial. Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.