Critical Review: Lyra Therapeutics (OTCMKTS:LYRA) versus ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY)

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

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Lyra Therapeutics and ARS Pharmaceuticals”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lyra Therapeutics	$400,000.00	0.66	-$28.92 million	($19.15)	-0.01
ARS Pharmaceuticals	$84.28 million	4.80	-$171.30 million	($2.18)	-1.87

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

Risk & Volatility

Lyra Therapeutics has a beta of 0.5, indicating that its share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ARS Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

95.6% of Lyra Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.2% of ARS Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.3% of Lyra Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 33.8% of ARS Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Lyra Therapeutics and ARS Pharmaceuticals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lyra Therapeutics	1	0	0	0	1.00
ARS Pharmaceuticals	1	1	4	0	2.50

ARS Pharmaceuticals has a consensus target price of $25.00, suggesting a potential upside of 514.25%. Given ARS Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe ARS Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Lyra Therapeutics.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lyra Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	N/A
ARS Pharmaceuticals	-184.24%	-256.67%	-69.63%

Summary

ARS Pharmaceuticals beats Lyra Therapeutics on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About ARS Pharmaceuticals

ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, develops treatments for severe allergic reactions. The company is developing neffy, a needle-free and low-dose intranasal epinephrine nasal spray for the emergency treatment of Type I allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. It serves healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers. ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.