Financial Contrast: Protalix BioTherapeutics (NYSE:PLX) vs. Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA)

Protalix BioTherapeutics (NYSE:PLX) and Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

16.5% of Protalix BioTherapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.9% of Atara Biotherapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.3% of Protalix BioTherapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Atara Biotherapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Protalix BioTherapeutics and Atara Biotherapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Protalix BioTherapeutics	-21.03%	-30.89%	-11.74%
Atara Biotherapeutics	-132.58%	N/A	-90.16%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Protalix BioTherapeutics and Atara Biotherapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Protalix BioTherapeutics	0	0	0	0	0.00
Atara Biotherapeutics	1	1	2	0	2.25

Atara Biotherapeutics has a consensus price target of $16.67, suggesting a potential upside of 38.20%. Given Atara Biotherapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Atara Biotherapeutics is more favorable than Protalix BioTherapeutics.

Risk and Volatility

Protalix BioTherapeutics has a beta of 0.67, indicating that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atara Biotherapeutics has a beta of 0.5, indicating that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Protalix BioTherapeutics and Atara Biotherapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Protalix BioTherapeutics	$65.49 million	1.91	$8.31 million	($0.13)	-13.08
Atara Biotherapeutics	$8.57 million	8.11	-$276.13 million	($25.78)	-0.47

Protalix BioTherapeutics has higher revenue and earnings than Atara Biotherapeutics. Protalix BioTherapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Atara Biotherapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Protalix BioTherapeutics beats Atara Biotherapeutics on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Protalix BioTherapeutics

Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development, production, and commercialization of recombinant therapeutic proteins based on its proprietary ProCellEx plant cell-based protein expression system in the United States, Australia, Canada, Israel, Brazil, Russia, Turkey, and internationally. The company offers Elelyso for the treatment of Gaucher disease; and Elfabrio for the treatment of adult patients with a confirmed diagnosis of Fabry disease. It is also developing PRX-115, a plant cell-expressed recombinant PEGylated Uricase which is in Phase I trial for the treatment of gout; and PRX-119, a plant cell-expressed PEGylated recombinant human DNase I product candidate that is in preclinical phase for the treatment of NETs-related diseases. The company has agreements and partnerships with Pfizer; Fundação Oswaldo Cruz; and Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A. The company was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Karmiel, Israel. Protalix BioTherapeutics, Inc. is a subsidiary of Protalix Ltd.

About Atara Biotherapeutics

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. engages in the development of transformative therapies for patients with solid tumors, hematologic cancers, and autoimmune diseases in the United States and the United Kingdom. Its lead product includes Tab-cel (tabelecleucel), a T-cell immunotherapy program that is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of epstein-barr virus (EBV) driven post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease, as well as nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Its CAR T immunotherapy pipeline products include ATA3219, currently in Phase 1 trials, as well as ATA3431, under preclinical trials for the treatment of B-cell malignancies and autoimmune diseases; and ATA188 that is in Phase 2 clinical trials to treat multiple sclerosis. The company has research collaboration agreements with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Council of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research. Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California.