Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) vs. C4 Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CCCC) Head to Head Analysis

C4 Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CCCC) and Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for C4 Therapeutics and Akebia Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
C4 Therapeutics	1	0	4	0	2.60
Akebia Therapeutics	1	2	3	0	2.33

C4 Therapeutics currently has a consensus price target of $7.67, indicating a potential upside of 103.90%. Akebia Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $3.75, indicating a potential upside of 284.73%. Given Akebia Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Akebia Therapeutics is more favorable than C4 Therapeutics.

Risk and Volatility

C4 Therapeutics has a beta of 2.94, suggesting that its share price is 194% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Akebia Therapeutics has a beta of 0.19, suggesting that its share price is 81% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares C4 Therapeutics and Akebia Therapeutics”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
C4 Therapeutics	$35.04 million	13.20	-$104.99 million	($1.00)	-3.76
Akebia Therapeutics	$236.20 million	1.14	-$5.34 million	($0.11)	-8.86

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

Profitability

This table compares C4 Therapeutics and Akebia Therapeutics’ 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%
Akebia Therapeutics	-13.54%	-88.88%	-7.74%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

78.8% of C4 Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.9% of Akebia Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 5.6% of C4 Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Akebia Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

C4 Therapeutics beats Akebia Therapeutics on 8 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 Akebia Therapeutics

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for patients with kidney diseases. The company’s lead product investigational product candidate is Vafseo (vadadustat), an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase, which is in Phase III development for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease (CKD) in dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis dependent patients. It offers Auryxia, a ferric citrate that is used to control the serum phosphorus levels in adult patients with DD-CKD on dialysis; and the treatment of iron deficiency anemia in adult patients with CKD not on dialysis. The company’s product pipeline includes AKB-9090, a drug targeting critical-care indications; and AKB-10108, a drug targeting conditions related to premature birth. It has collaboration agreements with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation for the development and commercialization of vadadustat in Japan and other Asian countries, as well as research and license agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV for the development and commercialization of hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase targeted compounds worldwide. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.