Critical Contrast: Zevra Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ZVRA) and Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT)

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) and Zevra Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ZVRA) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Arcutis Biotherapeutics and Zevra Therapeutics”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Arcutis Biotherapeutics	$376.07 million	9.21	-$16.14 million	$0.21	130.43
Zevra Therapeutics	$106.47 million	6.66	$83.23 million	$1.19	10.02

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

35.0% of Zevra Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.4% of Arcutis Biotherapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Zevra Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Arcutis Biotherapeutics has a beta of 1.66, indicating that its stock price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zevra Therapeutics has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Arcutis Biotherapeutics and Zevra Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Arcutis Biotherapeutics	5.88%	14.18%	6.28%
Zevra Therapeutics	52.80%	54.64%	37.84%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Arcutis Biotherapeutics and Zevra Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Arcutis Biotherapeutics	0	2	8	0	2.80
Zevra Therapeutics	0	1	9	1	3.00

Arcutis Biotherapeutics presently has a consensus target price of $39.75, suggesting a potential upside of 45.13%. Zevra Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $27.14, suggesting a potential upside of 127.71%. Given Zevra Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Zevra Therapeutics is more favorable than Arcutis Biotherapeutics.

Summary

Zevra Therapeutics beats Arcutis Biotherapeutics on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Arcutis Biotherapeutics

Arcutis Biotherapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing treatments for inflammatory skin diseases. Founded in 2016, the company is headquartered in Westlake Village, California. Arcutis primarily serves the U.S. market and continues to develop medicines for dermatologic conditions. Its leadership is headed by President and Chief Executive Officer Frank Watanabe.

About Zevra Therapeutics

Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. is a U.S.-based biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing treatments for rare diseases. Its work includes research and development as well as bringing therapies to patients with limited treatment options. The company’s products include MIPLYFFA (arimoclomol), approved in the United States for neurological manifestations of Niemann-Pick disease type C, and OLPRUVA (sodium phenylbutyrate), a treatment for certain urea cycle disorders. Zevra also advances investigational therapies for rare and complex conditions.