Head-To-Head Survey: Zevra Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ZVRA) versus Daré Bioscience (NASDAQ:DARE)

Zevra Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ZVRA) and Daré Bioscience (NASDAQ:DARE) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Zevra Therapeutics and Daré Bioscience, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zevra Therapeutics	0	0	6	0	3.00
Daré Bioscience	0	2	1	0	2.33

Zevra Therapeutics currently has a consensus price target of $19.50, indicating a potential upside of 327.63%. Daré Bioscience has a consensus price target of $6.00, indicating a potential upside of 1,997.90%. Given Daré Bioscience’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Daré Bioscience is more favorable than Zevra Therapeutics.

Volatility and Risk

Zevra Therapeutics has a beta of 1.81, meaning that its share price is 81% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Daré Bioscience has a beta of 1.16, meaning that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Zevra Therapeutics and Daré Bioscience’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zevra Therapeutics	-167.69%	-68.41%	-35.19%
Daré Bioscience	N/A	-1,482.38%	-120.75%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

35.0% of Zevra Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.7% of Daré Bioscience shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.4% of Zevra Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.3% of Daré Bioscience shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Zevra Therapeutics and Daré Bioscience’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zevra Therapeutics	$27.46 million	7.21	-$46.05 million	($1.29)	-3.53
Daré Bioscience	$2.81 million	10.24	-$30.16 million	($0.34)	-0.84

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

About Zevra Therapeutics

Zevra Therapeutics, Inc., a rare disease company melding science, discovers and develops various proprietary prodrugs to treat serious medical conditions in the United States. The company utilizes its Ligand Activated Therapy technology to generate improved prodrug versions of FDA-approved drugs, as well as to generate prodrug versions of existing compounds that may have applications for new disease indications. Its prodrug product candidate pipeline is focused on the high need areas of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, stimulant use disorder, and CNS rare diseases, including idiopathic hypersomnia (IH). The company's lead product candidate KP1077, which is under Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of IH and narcolepsy, is based on its prodrug of d-methylphenidate, known as serdexmethylphenidate. It is also developing KP879, a prodrug product candidate for the treatment of stimulant use disorder and is under Phase II clinical trial. In addition, the company has received FDA approval for AZSTARYS, a once-daily treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in patents age six years and older, and for APADAZ, an immediate-release combination product containing benzhydrocodone, a prodrug of hydrocodone, and acetaminophen. The company's product pipeline include, arimoclomol It has collaboration and license agreement with KVK-Tech, Inc. and Commave Therapeutics SA. The company was formerly known as KemPharm, Inc. and changed its name to Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. in February 2023. Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Celebration, Florida.

About Daré Bioscience

Daré Bioscience, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, identifies, develops, and markets products for women's health in the United States. It develops therapies in the areas of contraception, reproductive health, menopause, fertility, and sexual and vaginal health. The company offers XACIATO for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis in female patients 12 years of age and older. It is developing Ovaprene, a hormone-free, monthly intravaginal contraceptive; Sildenafil Cream, a cream formulation of sildenafil for topical administration to the female genitalia on demand for the treatment of female sexual arousal disorder; DARE-HRT1 to treat moderate to-severe vasomotor symptoms in menopausal hormone therapy; DARE-VVA1 for the treatment of moderate-to-severe dyspareunia or pain during sexual intercourse; and DARE-CIN to treat cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and other human papillomavirus related pathologies. The company is also developing DARE-PDM1 for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea; DARE-204 and DARE-214, an injectable formulations contraception of etonogestrel designed to provide contraception over 6-month and 12-month periods; DARE-FRT1, an intravaginal ring designed to deliver bio-identical progesterone for luteal phase support as part of an in vitro fertilization treatment plan; and DARE-PTB1 for the prevention of preterm birth. In addition, it is developing DARE-LARC1, a contraceptive implant delivering levonorgestrel with a woman-centered design that controlled contraceptive option; DARE-LBT, a novel hydrogel formulation for vaginal delivery of live biotherapeutics to support vaginal health; DARE-GML, a multi-target antimicrobial agent; DARE-RH1, a novel approach to non-hormonal contraception for men and women by targeting the CatSper ion channel; and DARE-PTB2 for the prevention and treatment of idiopathic preterm birth through inhibition of a stress response protein. Daré Bioscience, Inc. is headquartered in San Diego, California.