Contrasting CASI Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CASI) and Aytu BioPharma (NASDAQ:AYTU)

CASI Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CASI) and Aytu BioPharma (NASDAQ:AYTU) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for CASI Pharmaceuticals and Aytu BioPharma, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CASI Pharmaceuticals	1	0	0	0	1.00
Aytu BioPharma	2	0	2	0	2.00

Aytu BioPharma has a consensus target price of $14.50, indicating a potential upside of 651.30%. Given Aytu BioPharma’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Aytu BioPharma is more favorable than CASI Pharmaceuticals.

Profitability

This table compares CASI Pharmaceuticals and Aytu BioPharma’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CASI Pharmaceuticals	-183.93%	N/A	-131.54%
Aytu BioPharma	-24.76%	-56.54%	-13.14%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares CASI Pharmaceuticals and Aytu BioPharma”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CASI Pharmaceuticals	$26.85 million	0.10	-$39.26 million	($3.01)	-0.07
Aytu BioPharma	$57.57 million	0.36	-$14.25 million	($1.66)	-1.16

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

Volatility and Risk

CASI Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.91, indicating that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aytu BioPharma has a beta of 0.17, indicating that its share price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

22.2% of CASI Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.5% of Aytu BioPharma shares are owned by institutional investors. 21.2% of CASI Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.9% of Aytu BioPharma shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Aytu BioPharma beats CASI Pharmaceuticals on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CASI Pharmaceuticals

CASI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, develops and commercializes therapeutics and pharmaceutical products in the People's Republic of China, the United States, and internationally. It offers EVOMELA, an intravenous formulation of melphalan for use as a conditioning treatment prior to stem cell transplantation, and as a palliative treatment for patients with multiple myeloma. The company's other hematology/oncology assets in pipeline include CNCT 19, an autologous CD19 CAR-T investigative product; BI-1206, novel anti-Fc?RIIB antibody, for the treatment of solid tumors and relapsed/refractory non-hodgkin lymphoma; CB-5339, a novel VCP/p97 inhibitor that focuses on valosin-containing protein (VCP)/p97 as a novel target in protein homeostasis, DNA damage response, and other cellular stress pathways for therapeutic use in the treatment of patients with various malignancies; CID-103, a human IgG1 anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody; and Thiotepa, a chemotherapeutic agent, which has various indications, including use as a conditioning treatment for use prior to certain allogeneic haemopoietic stem cell transplants. The company has licensing agreements with Juventas Cell Therapy Ltd.; BioInvent International AB; Black Belt Therapeutics Limited; Cleave Therapeutics, Inc.; and Acrotech Biopharma L.L.C. to develop and commercialize its commercial product EVOMELA. It also has distribution agreements with China Resources Pharmaceutical Commercial Group International Trading Co., Ltd; Pharmathen Global BV; and Riemser Pharma GmbH. CASI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was incorporated in 1991 and is based in Beijing, the People's Republic of China.

About Aytu BioPharma

Aytu Biopharma, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company, which engages in identifying, acquiring, and commercializing novel products. It operates through the Rx and Consumer Health segments. The RX segment consists of various prescription pharmaceutical products sold through third parties. The Consumer Health segment includes various consumer health products sold directly to consumers. Its products include Adzenys ER, Adzenys XR-ODT, Cotempla XR-ODT, Karbinal ER, Poly-Vi-Flor, Tri-Vi-Flor, Generic Tussionex, Tuzistra XR, and ZolpiMist. The company was founded on August 9, 2002 and is headquartered in Englewood, CO.