Critical Review: ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) and C4 Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CCCC)

C4 Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CCCC) and ACADIA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACAD) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares C4 Therapeutics and ACADIA Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
C4 Therapeutics	-289.44%	-45.45%	-30.90%
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals	33.42%	9.03%	6.79%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares C4 Therapeutics and ACADIA Pharmaceuticals”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
C4 Therapeutics	$35.95 million	8.93	-$104.99 million	($1.00)	-2.61
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals	$1.14 billion	2.91	$391.00 million	$2.22	8.67

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has higher revenue and earnings than C4 Therapeutics. C4 Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for C4 Therapeutics and ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
C4 Therapeutics	1	0	3	0	2.50
ACADIA Pharmaceuticals	0	5	13	0	2.72

C4 Therapeutics currently has a consensus price target of $8.50, suggesting a potential upside of 225.67%. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a consensus price target of $31.34, suggesting a potential upside of 62.82%. Given C4 Therapeutics’ higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe C4 Therapeutics is more favorable than ACADIA Pharmaceuticals.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

78.8% of C4 Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.7% of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. 5.6% of C4 Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 26.2% of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

C4 Therapeutics has a beta of 3.07, suggesting that its share price is 207% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals beats C4 Therapeutics on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About C4 Therapeutics

C4 Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops novel therapeutic candidates to degrade disease-causing proteins for the treatment of cancer, neurodegenerative conditions, and other diseases. Its lead product candidate is CFT7455, an orally bioavailable MonoDAC degrader of protein that is in Phase 1/2 trial targeting IKZF1 and IKZF3 for multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphomas, including peripheral T-cell lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma, currently under Phase 1/2 clinical trials. The company is also developing CFT1946, an orally bioavailable BiDAC degrader targeting V600X mutant BRAF to treat melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), colorectal cancer, and other solid malignancies, currently under Phase 1/2 clinical trials; and CFT8919, an orally bioavailable, allosteric, and mutant-selective BiDAC degrader of epidermal growth factor receptor, or EGFR, with an L858R mutation in NSCLC. It has strategic collaborations with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc.; Biogen MA, Inc.; Betta Pharmaceuticals, Co., Ltd.; and Merck Sharp & Dohme, LLC, as well as Calico Life Sciences LLC. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts.

About ACADIA Pharmaceuticals

ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization innovative medicines that address unmet medical needs in central nervous system (CNS) disorders and rare diseases in the United States. The company offers NUPLAZID (pimavanserin) for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis; and DAYBUE, a novel synthetic analog of the amino-terminal tripeptide of insulin-like growth factor 1 for treatment of Rett Syndrome. It also develops Pimavanserin that is in Phase III ADVANCE-2 study to treat the negative symptoms of schizophrenia; ACP-101 whixh is in Phase III for the treatment of hyperphagia in Prader-Willi syndrome; ACP-204 which is in Phase II for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease psychosis; ACP-2591 that is in Phase I for Rett syndrome and Fragile X syndrome; preclinical antisense oligonucleotide programs; and other programs for neuropsychiatric symptoms. It has a license agreement with Neuren Pharmaceuticals Limited to develop and commercialize trofinetide for Rett syndrome and other indications; and a license and collaboration agreement with Stoke Therapeutics, Inc. to discover, develop and commercialize novel RNA-based medicines for the potential treatment of severe and rare genetic neurodevelopmental diseases of the CNS. The company was formerly known as Receptor Technologies, Inc. and changed its name ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. in 1997. ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.