Head-To-Head Survey: Athersys (NASDAQ:ATHX) vs. Zymeworks (NASDAQ:ZYME)

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

19.4% of Athersys shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.9% of Zymeworks shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Athersys shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 33.5% of Zymeworks shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Athersys and Zymeworks”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Athersys	$146,000.00	0.00	-$72.53 million	($2.03)	N/A
Zymeworks	$105.96 million	16.03	-$81.13 million	($1.37)	-16.98

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

Profitability

This table compares Athersys and Zymeworks’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Athersys	N/A	N/A	-223.03%
Zymeworks	-126.92%	-37.97%	-25.31%

Risk & Volatility

Athersys has a beta of -0.9, meaning that its stock price is 190% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zymeworks has a beta of 1.15, meaning that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Athersys and Zymeworks, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Athersys	0	0	0	0	0.00
Zymeworks	1	1	8	1	2.82

Zymeworks has a consensus price target of $36.67, indicating a potential upside of 57.64%. Given Zymeworks’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Zymeworks is more favorable than Athersys.

Summary

Zymeworks beats Athersys on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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 Zymeworks

Zymeworks Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes biotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer. The company’s lead product candidates include zanidatamab, a novel bispecific antibody that is in Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of biliary tract, gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas, and breast cancer; and ZW49, a biparatopic anti- human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) antibody-drug conjugate that is in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of advanced or metastatic HER2-expressing tumors. The company has strategic partnerships with Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Ltd.; Eli Lilly and Company; Bristol-Myers Squibb company; GlaxoSmithKline Intellectual Property Development Ltd.; Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.; Janssen Biotech, Inc.; and BeiGene, Ltd. It also has licensing and research collaboration with LEO Pharma A/S to discover and develop bispecific antibodies; and Iconic Therapeutics, Inc. Zymeworks Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.