Reviewing Opus Genetics (NASDAQ:IRD) and Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE)

Opus Genetics (NASDAQ:IRD) and Wave Life Sciences (NASDAQ:WVE) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Opus Genetics and Wave Life Sciences”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Opus Genetics	$19.05 million	1.94	-$9.99 million	($1.09)	-1.07
Wave Life Sciences	$113.31 million	16.42	-$57.51 million	($1.11)	-10.99

Opus Genetics has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Wave Life Sciences. Wave Life Sciences is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Opus Genetics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

15.0% of Opus Genetics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.7% of Wave Life Sciences shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.6% of Opus Genetics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 29.1% of Wave Life Sciences shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Opus Genetics and Wave Life Sciences, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Opus Genetics	0	0	1	0	3.00
Wave Life Sciences	0	1	7	1	3.00

Opus Genetics currently has a consensus target price of $8.00, indicating a potential upside of 583.76%. Wave Life Sciences has a consensus target price of $22.22, indicating a potential upside of 82.15%. Given Opus Genetics’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Opus Genetics is more favorable than Wave Life Sciences.

Volatility and Risk

Opus Genetics has a beta of 0.16, indicating that its stock price is 84% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Wave Life Sciences has a beta of -1.07, indicating that its stock price is 207% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Opus Genetics and Wave Life Sciences’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Opus Genetics	-324.45%	-63.65%	-56.94%
Wave Life Sciences	-66.50%	-280.57%	-52.90%

Summary

Wave Life Sciences beats Opus Genetics on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Opus Genetics

Opus Genetics Inc. is a clinical-stage ophthalmic biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies for the treatment of unmet needs of patients with refractive and retinal eye disorders. Opus Genetics Inc., formerly known as Ocuphire Pharma Inc., is based in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

About Wave Life Sciences

Wave Life Sciences Ltd., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, designs, develops, and commercializes ribonucleic acid (RNA) medicines through PRISM, a discovery and drug development platform. The company's RNA medicines platform, PRISM, combines multiple modalities, chemistry innovation, and deep insights into human genetics to deliver scientific breakthroughs that treat both rare and prevalent disorders. It is developing WVE-006, a RNA editing oligonucleotide for the treatment of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency; siRNA clinical candidate for the treatment of obesity and other metabolic disorders; WVE-N531, a exon skipping oligonucleotide for the treatment of duchenne muscular dystrophy; and WVE-003, an antisense silencing oligonucleotide for the treatment of Huntington's disease (HD). The company has collaboration agreements with GlaxoSmithKline for the research, development, and commercialization of oligonucleotide therapeutics; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited for the research, development, and commercialization of oligonucleotide therapeutics for disorders of the Central Nervous System; and Asuragen, Inc. for the development and potential commercialization of companion diagnostics for investigational allele-selective therapeutic programs targeting HD. Wave Life Sciences Ltd. was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Singapore.