Zevra Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ZVRA) & Cassava Sciences (NASDAQ:FLNA) Critical Contrast

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

Risk & Volatility

Zevra Therapeutics has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cassava Sciences has a beta of -0.67, suggesting that its stock price is 167% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Zevra Therapeutics and Cassava Sciences’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zevra Therapeutics	78.17%	57.42%	26.03%
Cassava Sciences	N/A	-59.34%	-42.05%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Zevra Therapeutics and Cassava Sciences”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zevra Therapeutics	$106.47 million	5.60	$83.23 million	$1.33	7.58
Cassava Sciences	N/A	N/A	-$90.97 million	($1.88)	-0.86

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Zevra Therapeutics and Cassava Sciences, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zevra Therapeutics	0	2	7	0	2.78
Cassava Sciences	1	0	0	0	1.00

Zevra Therapeutics presently has a consensus target price of $23.00, indicating a potential upside of 128.17%. Given Zevra Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Zevra Therapeutics is more favorable than Cassava Sciences.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

35.0% of Zevra Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.1% of Cassava Sciences shares are held by institutional investors. 2.4% of Zevra Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 44.9% of Cassava Sciences shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Zevra Therapeutics beats Cassava Sciences on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Zevra Therapeutics

Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. discovers and develops various proprietary prodrugs to treat serious medical conditions in the United States. The company develops its products through Ligand Activated Therapy platform. Its lead product candidate is KP1077, consisting of KP1077IH, which is under Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of idiopathic hypersomnia, and KP1077N, which is under Phase ½ clinical trial to treat narcolepsy. The company is also developing Celiprolol, a prodrug product candidate that is under Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of vascular Ehlers Danlos syndrome. In addition, it offers AZSTARYS, a once-daily treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in patients aged six years and older; OLPRUVA to treat urea cycle disorders; and Arimoclomol for the treatment of niemann pick disease type C, an ultra-rare neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorder. The company has collaboration and license agreement with Commave Therapeutics SA to develop, manufacture and commercialize the company’s product candidates containing SDX and d-methylphenidate; and license agreement with Acer and Relief Therapeutics, Inc. to develop and commercialize rights for OLPRUVA. 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 Cassava Sciences

Filana Therapeutics Inc is a biotechnology company focused on developing novel, investigational therapies to modulate the filamin A protein for the treatment of central nervous system disorders, such as tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC)-related epilepsy, and other diseases associated with dysregulation or overexpression of filamin A. Its therapeutic product candidate, simufilam, is a proprietary small molecule oral treatment drug being studied for the treatment of TSC-related epilepsy.