Financial Contrast: Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) & OmniAb (NASDAQ:OABI)

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

Risk & Volatility

Aclaris Therapeutics has a beta of 0.26, meaning that its share price is 74% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, OmniAb has a beta of 0.15, meaning that its share price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

98.3% of Aclaris Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.1% of OmniAb shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.6% of Aclaris Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.6% of OmniAb shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Aclaris Therapeutics and OmniAb’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aclaris Therapeutics	-802.03%	-34.01%	-24.18%
OmniAb	-275.83%	-22.79%	-20.18%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Aclaris Therapeutics and OmniAb”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aclaris Therapeutics	$16.79 million	16.52	-$132.07 million	($1.37)	-1.87
OmniAb	$26.39 million	8.07	-$62.03 million	($0.60)	-2.47

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Aclaris Therapeutics and OmniAb, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aclaris Therapeutics	1	0	8	1	2.90
OmniAb	1	0	3	0	2.50

Aclaris Therapeutics presently has a consensus price target of $8.71, suggesting a potential upside of 240.40%. OmniAb has a consensus price target of $6.67, suggesting a potential upside of 350.45%. Given OmniAb’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe OmniAb is more favorable than Aclaris Therapeutics.

Summary

OmniAb beats Aclaris Therapeutics on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aclaris Therapeutics

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of novel drug candidates for immune-inflammatory diseases in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Therapeutics and Contract Research. The Therapeutics segment is involved in identifying and developing therapies to address significant unmet needs for immuno-inflammatory diseases. The Contract Research segment provides laboratory services. It develops Zunsemetinib (ATI-450), an MK2 inhibitor which is under Phase 1b/2 trials for the treatment of metastatic breast and pancreatic cancer; ATI-1777, a soft JAK 1/3 inhibitor, completed Phase 2b trails for the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis and other dermatologic conditions; and ATI-2138, an oral covalent inhibitor of ITK and JAK3 inhibitor under Phase 1 trials as a treatment for T cell-mediated autoimmune diseases. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania.

About OmniAb

OmniAb, Inc., a biotechnology company, engages in the discovery and provision of therapeutic antibody discovery technologies in the United States. The company's technology platform creates and screens diverse antibody repertoires and identify optimal antibodies for partners' drug development efforts. Its OmniAb platform is the biological intelligence of proprietary transgenic animals, including OmniRat, OmniChicken, and OmniMouse that have been genetically modified to generate antibodies with human sequences to facilitate development of human therapeutic candidates. The company's OmniFlic, a bispecific rat, and OmniClic, a bispecific chicken, designed for discovery of bispecific antibody applications; OmniTaur, which provides unique structural characteristics of cow antibodies for complex targets; and OmniDeep, a suite of in silico, an AI and machine learning tools for therapeutic discovery and optimization through various technologies and capabilities. OmniAb, Inc. was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Emeryville, California.