Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) versus Cara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CARA) Critical Analysis

Cara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CARA) and Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, profitability, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Risk & Volatility

Cara Therapeutics has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ascendis Pharma A/S has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Cara Therapeutics and Ascendis Pharma A/S”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cara Therapeutics	$11.00 million	1.50	-$118.51 million	($2.25)	-0.13
Ascendis Pharma A/S	$317.63 million	27.73	-$521.07 million	($9.61)	-15.74

Cara Therapeutics has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Ascendis Pharma A/S. Ascendis Pharma A/S is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cara Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

44.7% of Cara Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.1% of Cara Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 40.0% of Ascendis Pharma A/S shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Cara Therapeutics and Ascendis Pharma A/S’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cara Therapeutics	-1,010.20%	-241.31%	-110.04%
Ascendis Pharma A/S	-154.18%	-16,574.15%	-59.81%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Cara Therapeutics and Ascendis Pharma A/S, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cara Therapeutics	0	6	0	0	2.00
Ascendis Pharma A/S	0	1	13	0	2.93

Cara Therapeutics currently has a consensus price target of $2.32, suggesting a potential upside of 668.21%. Ascendis Pharma A/S has a consensus price target of $193.77, suggesting a potential upside of 28.10%. Given Cara Therapeutics’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Cara Therapeutics is more favorable than Ascendis Pharma A/S.

About Cara Therapeutics

Cara Therapeutics, Inc., a development-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapeutics treatment of chronic pruritus in the United States. The company's lead product is KORSUVA (difelikefalin) injection for the treatment of moderate-to-severe pruritus associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in adults undergoing hemodialysis. It also develops Oral difelikefalin, which is in Phase II/III clinical trial to treat chronic pruritus with notalgia paresthetica. The company has license agreements with Maruishi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd to develop, manufacture, and commercialize drug products containing difelikefalin for acute pain and uremic pruritus in Japan; Vifor Fresenius Medical Care Renal Pharma Ltd. development and commercialization of KORSUVA injection for the treatment of moderate-to-severe pruritus in adult patients undergoing hemodialysis; and Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corporation to develop, manufacture, and commercialize drug products containing difelikefalin in South Korea. Cara Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is based in Stamford, Connecticut.

About Ascendis Pharma A/S

Ascendis Pharma A/S, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing therapies for unmet medical needs. It offers SKYTROFA for treating patients with growth hormone deficiency (GHD). The company is also developing a pipeline of three independent endocrinology rare disease product candidates in clinical development, as well as focuses on advancing oncology therapeutic candidates. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Hellerup, Denmark.