Head to Head Comparison: Curis (NASDAQ:CRIS) & X4 Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XFOR)

Curis (NASDAQ:CRIS) and X4 Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XFOR) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership and profitability.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Curis and X4 Pharmaceuticals”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Curis	$10.26 million	2.80	-$47.41 million	($7.81)	-0.43
X4 Pharmaceuticals	$1.12 million	86.58	-$101.17 million	($0.09)	-6.33

Curis has higher revenue and earnings than X4 Pharmaceuticals. X4 Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Curis, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

30.0% of Curis shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.0% of X4 Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. 5.7% of Curis shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of X4 Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Curis and X4 Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Curis	-443.35%	-923.37%	-78.35%
X4 Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-236.19%	-75.14%

Volatility and Risk

Curis has a beta of 3.42, indicating that its share price is 242% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, X4 Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.14, indicating that its share price is 86% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Curis and X4 Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Curis	0	0	3	0	3.00
X4 Pharmaceuticals	0	0	3	0	3.00

Curis presently has a consensus price target of $23.00, suggesting a potential upside of 578.47%. X4 Pharmaceuticals has a consensus price target of $3.50, suggesting a potential upside of 513.93%. Given Curis’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Curis is more favorable than X4 Pharmaceuticals.

About Curis

Curis, Inc., a biotechnology company, engages in the discovery and development of drug candidates for the treatment of human cancers in the United States. Its clinical stage drug candidates include Emavusertib, an oral small molecule IRAK4 kinase inhibitor, which is in a Phase 1/2 open-label, single arm expansion trial in patients with relapsed or refractory, or R/R, AML and high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes. The company’s pipeline also includes Fimepinostat, an oral dual inhibitor of HDAC and PI3K enzymes for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; CA-170, an oral, small molecule antagonist designated as CA-170 that selectively targets PD-L1 and VISTA; and CA-327, an oral, small molecule, TIM3/PD-L1, which is a molecule antagonist of PD-L1 and TIM3. It has collaboration agreement with Genentech Inc., or Genentech and F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, or Roche, for the commercialization of Erivedge, an orally-administered small molecule hedgehog signaling pathway antagonist for the treatment of advanced basal cell carcinoma, or BCC; Aurigene Discovery Technologies Limited for the discovery, development, and commercialization of small molecule compounds in the areas of immuno-oncology and precision oncology; and also licensed four programs under the Aurigene collaboration, including emavusertib. Curis, Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts.

About X4 Pharmaceuticals

X4 Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the research, development, and commercialization of novel therapeutics for the treatment of rare diseases. Its lead product candidate is mavorixafor, a small molecule inhibitor of the chemokine receptor C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4), which is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of patients with warts, hypogammaglobulinemia, infections, and myelokathexis syndrome; and Phase II clinical trial to treat congenital, idiopathic, or cyclic neutropenia. The company is also developing X4P-003, a CXCR4 antagonist for the treatment of CXCR4 dependent disorders and primary immunodeficiencies; and X4P-002, a CXCR4 antagonist for the treatment of blood-brain barrier diseases. It has a license agreement with Abbisko Therapeutics Co Ltd. to develop, manufacture, and commercialize mavorixafor in combination with checkpoint inhibitors or other agents in oncology indications. The company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.