Analyzing OnKure Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OKUR) and Athira Pharma (NASDAQ:ATHA)

Athira Pharma (NASDAQ:ATHA) and OnKure Therapeutics (NASDAQ:OKUR) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Athira Pharma and OnKure Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Athira Pharma	N/A	-107.06%	-89.89%
OnKure Therapeutics	N/A	-61.02%	-55.99%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Athira Pharma and OnKure Therapeutics”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Athira Pharma	N/A	N/A	-$96.94 million	($9.68)	-0.85
OnKure Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$59.52 million	($4.33)	-0.97

OnKure Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Athira Pharma, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Athira Pharma has a beta of 2.79, indicating that its stock price is 179% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, OnKure Therapeutics has a beta of 0.28, indicating that its stock price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

57.1% of Athira Pharma shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.0% of OnKure Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.8% of Athira Pharma shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.9% of OnKure Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Athira Pharma and OnKure Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Athira Pharma	1	0	0	0	1.00
OnKure Therapeutics	1	2	1	0	2.00

Athira Pharma presently has a consensus price target of $4.00, suggesting a potential downside of 51.34%. OnKure Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $27.00, suggesting a potential upside of 539.81%. Given OnKure Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe OnKure Therapeutics is more favorable than Athira Pharma.

Summary

OnKure Therapeutics beats Athira Pharma on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Athira Pharma

Athira Pharma, Inc., a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing small molecules to restore neuronal health and slow neurodegradation. Its lead product candidate is Fosgonimeton (ATH-1017), a small molecule designed to modulate the neurotrophic hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) system and its receptor, MET, for a healthy nervous system that is in LIFT-AD Phase 2/3 and ACT-AD Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, as well as is in Phase 2 clinical trials to treat Parkinson's disease dementia and Dementia with Lewy bodies. The company's product pipeline includes ATH-1020, an orally available brain-penetrant small molecule designed to enhance the HGF/MET system that is in Phase 1 clinical trials to treat neuropathic pain and neurodegenerative diseases; and ATH-1105, an oral small molecule drug candidate, which is a preclinical model for the treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. In addition, it has a license agreement with Washington State University to offer for sale products covered by certain licensed patents, including dihexa, the chemical compound into which fosgonimeton metabolizes following administration; and collaboration and grant agreement with National Institutes of Health Grant to support ACT-AD Phase 2 clinical trial for fosgonimeton. The company was formerly known as M3 Biotechnology, Inc. and changed its name to Athira Pharma, Inc. in April 2019. Athira Pharma, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Bothell, Washington.

About OnKure Therapeutics

OnKure Therapeutics, Inc. engages in discovering and developing precision medicines that target biologically validated drivers of cancers underserved by available therapies. The company uses a structure and computational chemistry driven drug design platform, committed to improving clinical outcomes for patients by building a robust pipeline of small molecule drugs designed to selectively target specific mutations thought to be key drivers of cancer. It is headquartered in Boulder, CO.