Financial Survey: Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZNTL) and Athersys (NASDAQ:ATHX)

Athersys (NASDAQ:ATHX) and Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZNTL) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Risk & Volatility

Athersys has a beta of -0.9, meaning that its share price is 190% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zentalis Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.84, meaning that its share price is 84% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

19.4% of Athersys shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Athersys shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Zentalis 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 Athersys and Zentalis Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Athersys	N/A	N/A	-223.03%
Zentalis Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-43.91%	-34.96%

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Athersys	$146,000.00	5.71	-$72.53 million	($2.03)	-0.01
Zentalis Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	-$292.19 million	($2.49)	-1.24

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Athersys and Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Athersys	0	0	0	0	0.00
Zentalis Pharmaceuticals	0	5	4	0	2.44

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus price target of $10.00, suggesting a potential upside of 223.62%. Given Zentalis Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Zentalis Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Athersys.

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.

About Zentalis Pharmaceuticals

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of various cancers. Its products candidatures include the ZN-c3, an inhibitor of WEE1, a protein tyrosine kinase for the treatment of inhibitor for advanced solid tumors and hematological malignancies; in Phase 2 clinical trial as a monotherapy for the treatment of uterine serous carcinoma indications; Phase 2 clinical trial in Cyclin E1 driven high-grade serous ovarian cancer, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer; Phase 1/2 clinical trial in combination with PARPi for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer; Phase 1b clinical trial in combination with chemotherapy in platinum-resistant ovarian, and peritoneal or fallopian tube cancer; Phase 1/2 clinical trial in combination with chemotherapy in relapsed or refractory osteosarcoma; Phase 1/2 clinical trial with encorafenib and cetuximab for mutant metastatic colorectal cancer; and Phase 1/2 clinical trial in combination with chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer. The company's products pipeline also includes ZN-d5, an oral small molecule inhibitor of B-cell lymphoma 2, for hematological malignancies and related disorders; and BCL-xL heterobifunctional degrader, a member of the anti-apoptotic BCL-2 proteins, for solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has licensing agreements and strategic collaborations with Recurium IP Holdings, LLC; Pfizer, Inc.; Zentera Therapeutics; Dana-Farber; and GlaxoSmithKline plc. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in New York, New York.