Reviewing Athira Pharma (NASDAQ:ATHA) & Dyadic International (NASDAQ:DYAI)

Dyadic International (NASDAQ:DYAI) and Athira Pharma (NASDAQ:ATHA) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Dyadic International has a beta of 0.73, suggesting that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Athira Pharma has a beta of 2.9, suggesting that its stock price is 190% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Dyadic International and Athira Pharma’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dyadic International	-347.92%	-116.14%	-76.15%
Athira Pharma	N/A	-80.59%	-67.70%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

28.0% of Dyadic International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.1% of Athira Pharma shares are held by institutional investors. 28.8% of Dyadic International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 19.8% of Athira Pharma shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Dyadic International and Athira Pharma’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dyadic International	$2.90 million	15.63	-$6.80 million	($0.28)	-5.54
Athira Pharma	N/A	N/A	-$117.67 million	($3.05)	-1.09

Dyadic International has higher revenue and earnings than Athira Pharma. Dyadic International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Athira Pharma, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Dyadic International and Athira Pharma, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dyadic International	0	0	1	0	3.00
Athira Pharma	0	0	1	0	3.00

Dyadic International presently has a consensus target price of $6.00, suggesting a potential upside of 287.10%. Athira Pharma has a consensus target price of $19.00, suggesting a potential upside of 474.02%. Given Athira Pharma’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Athira Pharma is more favorable than Dyadic International.

Summary

Athira Pharma beats Dyadic International on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Dyadic International

Dyadic International, Inc., a biotechnology platform company, develops, produces, and sells enzymes and other proteins in the United States and internationally. It utilizes C1-cell protein production platform based on an industrially proven microorganism (C1) for the development and production of biologic products including enzymes and other proteins for human and animal health. The company offers DYAI-100, SARS-CoV-2-RBD antigen vaccine candidate towards a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial to demonstrate the safety in humans of a protein produced using the C1 platform. It has also developed the Dapibus thermophilic, a filamentous fungal-based microbial protein production platform to enable the development and large-scale manufacture of cost-effective proteins, metabolites, and other biologic products for use in non-pharmaceutical applications, including food, nutrition, and wellness. The company has a research and development agreement with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Ltd.; license agreement with South Africa's Rubic One Health; Joint Development Agreement with a Global Food Ingredient Company; and sub-license agreement with Abic Biological Laboratories Ltd., Alphazyme, LLC, and Abic Biological Laboratories Ltd. Dyadic International, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Jupiter, Florida.

About Athira Pharma

Athira Pharma, Inc., a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing small molecules to restore neuronal health and slow neurodegradation. Its lead product candidate is Fosgonimeton (ATH-1017), a small molecule designed to modulate the neurotrophic hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) system and its receptor, MET, for a healthy nervous system that is in LIFT-AD Phase 2/3 and ACT-AD Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, as well as is in Phase 2 clinical trials to treat Parkinson's disease dementia and Dementia with Lewy bodies. The company's product pipeline includes ATH-1020, an orally available brain-penetrant small molecule designed to enhance the HGF/MET system that is in Phase 1 clinical trials to treat neuropathic pain and neurodegenerative diseases; and ATH-1105, an oral small molecule drug candidate, which is a preclinical model for the treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. In addition, it has a license agreement with Washington State University to offer for sale products covered by certain licensed patents, including dihexa, the chemical compound into which fosgonimeton metabolizes following administration; and collaboration and grant agreement with National Institutes of Health Grant to support ACT-AD Phase 2 clinical trial for fosgonimeton. The company was formerly known as M3 Biotechnology, Inc. and changed its name to Athira Pharma, Inc. in April 2019. Athira Pharma, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Bothell, Washington.