Head-To-Head Review: Athira Pharma (NASDAQ:ATHA) vs. CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP)

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) and Athira Pharma (NASDAQ:ATHA) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares CRISPR Therapeutics and Athira Pharma”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
CRISPR Therapeutics	$371.21 million	11.43	-$153.61 million	($2.83)	-17.57
Athira Pharma	N/A	N/A	-$117.67 million	($2.85)	-0.16

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

Risk and Volatility

CRISPR Therapeutics has a beta of 1.67, suggesting that its share price is 67% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Athira Pharma has a beta of 2.97, suggesting that its share price is 197% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

69.2% of CRISPR Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.1% of Athira Pharma shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.1% of CRISPR Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.8% of Athira Pharma shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares CRISPR Therapeutics and Athira Pharma’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
CRISPR Therapeutics	-118.13%	-12.15%	-10.35%
Athira Pharma	N/A	-115.62%	-88.94%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for CRISPR Therapeutics and Athira Pharma, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
CRISPR Therapeutics	1	9	12	0	2.50
Athira Pharma	0	4	0	0	2.00

CRISPR Therapeutics currently has a consensus price target of $74.50, indicating a potential upside of 49.84%. Athira Pharma has a consensus price target of $13.83, indicating a potential upside of 2,855.84%. Given Athira Pharma’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Athira Pharma is more favorable than CRISPR Therapeutics.

Summary

CRISPR Therapeutics beats Athira Pharma on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About CRISPR Therapeutics

CRISPR Therapeutics is a gene-editing company focused on developing transformative gene-based medicines for serious diseases using its proprietary CRISPR/Cas9 platform. CRISPR/Cas9 is a revolutionary gene-editing technology that allows for precise, directed changes to genomic DNA. CRISPR Therapeutics has established a portfolio of therapeutic programs across a broad range of disease areas including hemoglobinopathies, oncology, regenerative medicine and rare diseases. To accelerate and expand its efforts, CRISPR Therapeutics has established strategic collaborations with companies including Bayer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and ViaCyte, Inc. CRISPR Therapeutics AG is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, with its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, CRISPR Therapeutics, Inc., and R&D operations based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and business offices in San Francisco, California and London, United Kingdom. For more information, please visit www.crisprtx.com.

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.