Critical Contrast: Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) & Lyra Therapeutics (OTCMKTS:LYRA)

Ardelyx (NASDAQ:ARDX) and Lyra Therapeutics (OTCMKTS:LYRA) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, risk and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Ardelyx and Lyra Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ardelyx	-12.35%	-36.00%	-10.77%
Lyra Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk & Volatility

Ardelyx has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lyra Therapeutics has a beta of -0.29, meaning that its share price is 129% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

58.9% of Ardelyx shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.6% of Lyra Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 5.3% of Ardelyx shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of Lyra Therapeutics shares are held 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 Ardelyx and Lyra Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ardelyx	$407.32 million	1.85	-$61.60 million	($0.22)	-13.77
Lyra Therapeutics	$400,000.00	0.84	-$28.92 million	($19.15)	-0.01

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Ardelyx and Lyra Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ardelyx	1	1	9	1	2.83
Lyra Therapeutics	1	0	0	0	1.00

Ardelyx currently has a consensus target price of $13.90, suggesting a potential upside of 358.75%. Given Ardelyx’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Ardelyx is more favorable than Lyra Therapeutics.

Summary

Ardelyx beats Lyra Therapeutics on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ardelyx

Ardelyx, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines to treat gastrointestinal and cardiorenal therapeutic areas in the United States and internationally. The company’s lead product candidate is tenapanor for the treatment of patients with irritable bowel syndrome with constipation. It also develops XPHOZAH, which is in Phase III clinical trial to reduce serum phosphorus in adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD)on dialysis, or hyperphosphatemia; RDX013, a potassium secretagogue, for the treatment of elevated serum potassium, or hyperkalemia, a problem among patients with kidney and/or heart failure; and RDX020, for adult patients with metabolic acidosis, a serious electrolyte disorder. The company has agreements with Kyowa Kirin, Fosun Pharmaceutical Industrial Development Co. Ltd., and Knight Therapeutics, Inc. for the development and commercialization of tenapanor in their respective territories. The company was formerly known as Nteryx, Inc. and changed its name to Ardelyx, Inc. in June 2008. Ardelyx, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

About Lyra Therapeutics

Lyra Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on the development and commercialization of novel integrated drug and delivery solutions for the localized treatment of patients with ear, nose, and throat diseases. It's XTreo technology platform is designed to deliver medicines directly to the affected tissue for sustained periods with a single administration. The company's product candidates include LYR-210, an anti-inflammatory implantable drug matrix for the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), which is in Phase III clinical trial; and LYR-220 for CRS patients with and without nasal polyps. It has a collaboration agreement with LianBio Inflammatory Limited to develop and commercialize LYR-210 in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, South Korea, Singapore, and Thailand. The company was formerly known as 480 Biomedical, Inc. and changed its name to Lyra Therapeutics, Inc. in July 2018. Lyra Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts.