Cronos Group (NASDAQ:CRON – Get Free Report) and Lyra Therapeutics (OTCMKTS:LYRA – Get Free Report) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation and risk.
Risk and Volatility
Cronos Group has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lyra Therapeutics has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Cronos Group and Lyra Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Cronos Group | 39.08% | 4.85% | 4.62% |
| Lyra Therapeutics | -7,266.08% | N/A | -59.82% |
Valuation & Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Cronos Group | $179.09 million | 6.85 | -$9.45 million | $0.20 | 16.65 |
| Lyra Therapeutics | $400,000.00 | 0.89 | -$28.92 million | ($19.15) | -0.01 |
Cronos Group has higher revenue and earnings than Lyra Therapeutics. Lyra Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cronos Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Cronos Group and Lyra Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Cronos Group | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2.40 |
| Lyra Therapeutics | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Cronos Group presently has a consensus price target of $2.30, suggesting a potential downside of 30.93%. Given Cronos Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Cronos Group is more favorable than Lyra Therapeutics.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
8.7% of Cronos Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.6% of Lyra Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.8% of Cronos Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of Lyra Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Cronos Group beats Lyra Therapeutics on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Cronos Group
Cronos Group Inc. operates as a cannabinoid company that engages in the cultivation, production and marketing of cannabis products in Canada, Israel, and Germany. It offers dried flower, pre-rolls, oils, vaporizers, edibles, and cannabis tinctures under the Spinach, Lord Jones, and PEACE NATURALS brands. Cronos Group Inc. was founded in 2012 and is based in Toronto, Canada.
About Lyra Therapeutics
Lyra Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on the development and commercialization of novel integrated drug and delivery solutions for the localized treatment of patients with ear, nose, and throat diseases. It's XTreo technology platform is designed to deliver medicines directly to the affected tissue for sustained periods with a single administration. The company's product candidates include LYR-210, an anti-inflammatory implantable drug matrix for the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), which is in Phase III clinical trial; and LYR-220 for CRS patients with and without nasal polyps. It has a collaboration agreement with LianBio Inflammatory Limited to develop and commercialize LYR-210 in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand. The company was formerly known as 480 Biomedical, Inc. and changed its name to Lyra Therapeutics, Inc. in July 2018. Lyra Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts.
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