Zentalis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ZNTL) & Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) Head-To-Head Survey

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

32.5% of Aquestive Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.8% of Aquestive Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.8% of Zentalis Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Aquestive Therapeutics and Zentalis Pharmaceuticals”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aquestive Therapeutics	$44.54 million	10.65	-$83.78 million	($0.65)	-5.82
Zentalis Pharmaceuticals	$67.43 million	2.26	-$137.06 million	($1.95)	-1.09

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

Profitability

This table compares Aquestive Therapeutics and Zentalis Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aquestive Therapeutics	-144.63%	N/A	-52.40%
Zentalis Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-70.18%	-51.46%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Aquestive Therapeutics and Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aquestive Therapeutics	1	0	4	0	2.60
Zentalis Pharmaceuticals	1	3	6	1	2.64

Aquestive Therapeutics currently has a consensus target price of $8.60, suggesting a potential upside of 127.51%. Zentalis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus target price of $7.50, suggesting a potential upside of 252.11%. Given Zentalis Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Zentalis Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Aquestive Therapeutics.

Risk & Volatility

Aquestive Therapeutics has a beta of 1.49, meaning that its stock price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zentalis Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.93, meaning that its stock price is 93% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals beats Aquestive Therapeutics on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aquestive Therapeutics

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. operates as a pharmaceutical company in the United States and internationally. The company markets Sympazan, an oral soluble film formulation of clobazam for the treatment of lennox-gastaut syndrome; Suboxone, a sublingual film formulation of buprenorphine and naloxone for the treatment of opioid dependence; Zuplenz, an oral soluble film formulation of ondansetron for the treatment of nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy and post-operative recovery; and Azstarys, a once-daily product for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Its proprietary product candidates comprise Libervant, a buccal soluble film formulation of diazepam for the treatment of seizures; KYNMOBI, a sublingual film formulation of apomorphine for the treatment of episodic off-periods in Parkinson's disease; and Exservan, an oral soluble film formulation of riluzole for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The company's proprietary pipeline of complex molecule product includes AQST-108, a sublingual film formulation delivering systemic epinephrine for the treatment of conditions other than anaphylaxis; and Anaphylm, an epinephrine sublingual film for the emergency treatment of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. In addition, it develops Adrenaverse, an epinephrine prodrug platform. The company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Warren, New Jersey.

About Zentalis Pharmaceuticals

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of various cancers. Its products candidatures include the ZN-c3, an inhibitor of WEE1, a protein tyrosine kinase for the treatment of inhibitor for advanced solid tumors and hematological malignancies; in Phase 2 clinical trial as a monotherapy for the treatment of uterine serous carcinoma indications; Phase 2 clinical trial in Cyclin E1 driven high-grade serous ovarian cancer, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer; Phase 1/2 clinical trial in combination with PARPi for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer; Phase 1b clinical trial in combination with chemotherapy in platinum-resistant ovarian, and peritoneal or fallopian tube cancer; Phase 1/2 clinical trial in combination with chemotherapy in relapsed or refractory osteosarcoma; Phase 1/2 clinical trial with encorafenib and cetuximab for mutant metastatic colorectal cancer; and Phase 1/2 clinical trial in combination with chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer. The company's products pipeline also includes ZN-d5, an oral small molecule inhibitor of B-cell lymphoma 2, for hematological malignancies and related disorders; and BCL-xL heterobifunctional degrader, a member of the anti-apoptotic BCL-2 proteins, for solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has licensing agreements and strategic collaborations with Recurium IP Holdings, LLC; Pfizer, Inc.; Zentera Therapeutics; Dana-Farber; and GlaxoSmithKline plc. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in New York, New York.