Analyzing Athira Pharma (NASDAQ:ATHA) & MIRA Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MIRA)

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Athira Pharma and MIRA Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Athira Pharma	1	0	0	0	1.00
MIRA Pharmaceuticals	1	0	1	0	2.00

Athira Pharma currently has a consensus price target of $4.00, indicating a potential downside of 24.53%. Given Athira Pharma’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Athira Pharma is more favorable than MIRA Pharmaceuticals.

Risk and Volatility

Athira Pharma has a beta of 2.79, meaning that its share price is 179% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MIRA Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.78, meaning that its share price is 78% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Athira Pharma and MIRA Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Athira Pharma	N/A	-107.06%	-89.89%
MIRA Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-236.29%	-213.97%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Athira Pharma and MIRA Pharmaceuticals”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Athira Pharma	N/A	N/A	-$96.94 million	($9.68)	-0.55
MIRA Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	-$7.85 million	($1.53)	-0.76

MIRA Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Athira Pharma, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

57.1% of Athira Pharma shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.2% of MIRA Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. 19.8% of Athira Pharma shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of MIRA Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Athira Pharma beats MIRA Pharmaceuticals on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About MIRA Pharmaceuticals

MIRA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. operates as a pre-clinical-stage pharmaceutical development company with two neuroscience programs targeting a range of neurologic and neuropsychiatric disorders. The company holds exclusive U.S., Canadian, and Mexican rights for Ketamir-2, a patent pending oral ketamine analog under investigation to deliver ultra-rapid antidepressant effects for individuals battling treatment-resistant depression, major depressive disorder with suicidal ideation, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, its oral pharmaceutical marijuana, MIRA-55, is under investigation for treating adult patients suffering from anxiety and cognitive decline, often associated with early-stage dementia. The company was formerly known as MIRA1a Therapeutics, Inc. MIRA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was incorporated in 2020 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.