Comparing ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY) and Q32 Bio (NASDAQ:QTTB)

ARS Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SPRY) and Q32 Bio (NASDAQ:QTTB) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares ARS Pharmaceuticals and Q32 Bio”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ARS Pharmaceuticals	$2.57 million	423.10	-$54.37 million	($0.51)	-21.92
Q32 Bio	-$6.65 million	-6.57	-$112.96 million	($14.25)	-0.25

ARS Pharmaceuticals has higher revenue and earnings than Q32 Bio. ARS Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Q32 Bio, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

ARS Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Q32 Bio has a beta of -0.46, meaning that its share price is 146% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

68.2% of ARS Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 31.3% of Q32 Bio shares are owned by institutional investors. 40.1% of ARS Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 16.1% of Q32 Bio shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares ARS Pharmaceuticals and Q32 Bio’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ARS Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-22.56%	-21.82%
Q32 Bio	N/A	-146.18%	-54.49%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for ARS Pharmaceuticals and Q32 Bio, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ARS Pharmaceuticals	0	0	4	2	3.33
Q32 Bio	0	4	4	0	2.50

ARS Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus target price of $24.00, indicating a potential upside of 114.67%. Q32 Bio has a consensus target price of $29.86, indicating a potential upside of 731.68%. Given Q32 Bio’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Q32 Bio is more favorable than ARS Pharmaceuticals.

Summary

ARS Pharmaceuticals beats Q32 Bio on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Q32 Bio

Q32 Bio Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops biologic therapeutics to restore healthy immune balance in patients with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases driven by pathological immune dysfunction in the United States. Its lead product candidate is ADX-097, a humanized anti-C3d monoclonal antibody fusion protein to restore complement regulation, which has completed Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of renal and other complement-mediated diseases of high unmet need, including lupus nephritis, immunoglobulin A nephropathy, complement component 3 glomerulopathy, and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis. The company is also developing Bempikibart (ADX-914), a fully human antiinterleukin-7 receptor alpha antagonist monoclonal antibody designed to re-regulate adaptive immune function by blocking signaling mediated by interleukin-7 and thymic stromal lymphopoietin that is Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of atopic dermatitis and alopecia areata. Q32 Bio Inc. was formerly known as AdMIRx Inc. and changed its name to Q32 Bio Inc. in April 2020. The company was founded in 2017 and is based in Waltham, Massachusetts.