Kezar Life Sciences (NASDAQ:KZR – Get Free Report) and BioXcel Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BTAI – Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and risk.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Kezar Life Sciences and BioXcel Therapeutics”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Kezar Life Sciences | N/A | N/A | -$83.74 million | ($8.44) | -0.75 |
| BioXcel Therapeutics | $752,000.00 | 49.44 | -$59.60 million | ($9.70) | -0.18 |
Profitability
This table compares Kezar Life Sciences and BioXcel Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Kezar Life Sciences | N/A | -62.53% | -51.77% |
| BioXcel Therapeutics | -9,070.61% | N/A | -185.00% |
Volatility and Risk
Kezar Life Sciences has a beta of 0.5, suggesting that its share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BioXcel Therapeutics has a beta of 0.21, suggesting that its share price is 79% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
67.9% of Kezar Life Sciences shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.7% of BioXcel Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.4% of Kezar Life Sciences shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of BioXcel Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Kezar Life Sciences and BioXcel Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Kezar Life Sciences | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.67 |
| BioXcel Therapeutics | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2.43 |
Kezar Life Sciences presently has a consensus price target of $6.00, indicating a potential downside of 4.61%. BioXcel Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $39.75, indicating a potential upside of 2,238.24%. Given BioXcel Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe BioXcel Therapeutics is more favorable than Kezar Life Sciences.
Summary
BioXcel Therapeutics beats Kezar Life Sciences on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Kezar Life Sciences
Kezar Life Sciences, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics to treat unmet needs in immune-mediated diseases and cancer in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is zetomipzomib (KZR-616), a selective immunoproteasome inhibitor that is in Phase 2b clinical trials for various indications, including lupus nephritis, dermatomyositis, and polymyositis; Phase 1b clinical trials in systemic lupus erythematosus; and completed Phase 2a clinical trials in lupus nephritis. Its preclinical products include KZR-261, a novel first-in-class protein secretion inhibitor for the treatment of tumors resistant to traditional chemotherapeutics. Kezar Life Sciences, Inc. was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.
About BioXcel Therapeutics
BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc., a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in utilizing artificial intelligence approaches to develop transformative medicines in neuroscience and immuno-oncology. The company's drug re-innovation approach leverages existing approved drugs and/or clinically validated product candidates together with big data and proprietary machine learning algorithms to identify new therapeutic indices. Its commercial product, IGALMI, a sublingual film formulation of dexmedetomidine for the acute treatment of agitation associated with schizophrenia or bipolar I or II disorder in adults. The company also continues to conduct clinical trials evaluating BXCL501 for the acute treatment of agitation in Alzheimer's disease patients, and for adjunctive treatment of patients with major depressive disorder, as well as in the community for agitation associated with bipolar disorders and schizophrenia. In addition, it is developing BXCL502 as a potential therapy for chronic agitation in dementia; and BXCL701, an investigational, orally innate immunity activator for the treatment of aggressive forms of prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, and other solid and liquid tumors; BXCL503, a drug candidate to target apathy in dementia; and BXCL504, a drug candidate to target aggression in dementia. BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut.
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