Analyzing Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) and Entrada Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TRDA)

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) and Entrada Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TRDA) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, risk and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

36.8% of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.4% of Entrada Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 4.3% of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.6% of Entrada Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Aurinia Pharmaceuticals and Entrada Therapeutics”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aurinia Pharmaceuticals	$235.13 million	4.78	-$78.02 million	$0.05	163.80
Entrada Therapeutics	$210.78 million	1.57	-$6.68 million	$1.91	4.61

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

Volatility and Risk

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.26, indicating that its share price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Entrada Therapeutics has a beta of -0.14, indicating that its share price is 114% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Aurinia Pharmaceuticals and Entrada Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aurinia Pharmaceuticals	0	0	2	0	3.00
Entrada Therapeutics	0	0	3	1	3.25

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus target price of $11.50, suggesting a potential upside of 40.42%. Entrada Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $25.67, suggesting a potential upside of 191.67%. Given Entrada Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Entrada Therapeutics is more favorable than Aurinia Pharmaceuticals.

Profitability

This table compares Aurinia Pharmaceuticals and Entrada Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aurinia Pharmaceuticals	-10.23%	-4.41%	-3.07%
Entrada Therapeutics	25.53%	16.11%	10.39%

Summary

Entrada Therapeutics beats Aurinia Pharmaceuticals on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc., a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies to treat various diseases with unmet medical need in the United States. It offers LUPKYNIS for the treatment of adult patients with active lupus nephritis. It has a collaboration and license agreement with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. The company was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Edmonton, Canada.

About Entrada Therapeutics

Entrada Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops endosomal escape vehicle (EEV) therapeutics for the treatment of multiple neuromuscular diseases. Its EEV platform develops a portfolio of oligonucleotide, antibody, and enzyme-based programs. Its therapeutic candidates, which include ENTR-601-44, which is in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy; and ENTR-701, which is in Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of myotonic dystrophy type 1. The company also offers ENTR-601-45 and ENTR-601-50, which are in preclinical trail for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy; and ENTR-501, an intracellular thymidine phosphorylase enzyme replacement therapy, which is in preclinical trail for the treatment of mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy. Entrada Therapeutics, Inc. has a strategic collaboration and license agreement with Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated to research, develop, manufacture, and commercialize ENTR-701. The company was formerly known as CycloPorters, Inc. and changed its name to Entrada Therapeutics, Inc. in October 2017. Entrada Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.