Critical Survey: C4 Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CCCC) versus Scilex (NASDAQ:SCLX)

C4 Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CCCC) and Scilex (NASDAQ:SCLX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership and risk.

Volatility & Risk

C4 Therapeutics has a beta of 3.1, meaning that its share price is 210% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Scilex has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for C4 Therapeutics and Scilex, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
C4 Therapeutics	0	4	3	0	2.43
Scilex	0	0	3	0	3.00

C4 Therapeutics presently has a consensus price target of $10.13, suggesting a potential upside of 119.16%. Scilex has a consensus price target of $8.00, suggesting a potential upside of 346.93%. Given Scilex’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Scilex is more favorable than C4 Therapeutics.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

78.8% of C4 Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.7% of Scilex shares are held by institutional investors. 8.0% of C4 Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.7% of Scilex shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares C4 Therapeutics and Scilex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
C4 Therapeutics	-629.24%	-52.85%	-34.01%
Scilex	-229.47%	N/A	-106.29%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares C4 Therapeutics and Scilex’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
C4 Therapeutics	$20.76 million	15.31	-$132.49 million	($2.37)	-1.95
Scilex	$46.74 million	6.94	-$114.33 million	($1.31)	-1.37

Scilex has higher revenue and earnings than C4 Therapeutics. C4 Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Scilex, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Scilex beats C4 Therapeutics on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About C4 Therapeutics

C4 Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops novel therapeutic candidates to degrade disease-causing proteins for the treatment of cancer, neurodegenerative conditions, and other diseases. Its lead product candidate is CFT7455, an orally bioavailable MonoDAC degrader of protein that is in Phase 1/2 trial targeting IKZF1 and IKZF3 for multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphomas, including peripheral T-cell lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma, currently under Phase 1/2 clinical trials. The company is also developing CFT1946, an orally bioavailable BiDAC degrader targeting V600X mutant BRAF to treat melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), colorectal cancer, and other solid malignancies, currently under Phase 1/2 clinical trials; and CFT8919, an orally bioavailable, allosteric, and mutant-selective BiDAC degrader of epidermal growth factor receptor, or EGFR, with an L858R mutation in NSCLC. It has strategic collaborations with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc.; Biogen MA, Inc.; Betta Pharmaceuticals, Co., Ltd.; and Merck Sharp & Dohme, LLC, as well as Calico Life Sciences LLC. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts.

About Scilex

Scilex Holding Company focuses on acquiring, developing, and commercializing non-opioid pain management products for the treatment of acute and chronic pain. Its commercial products include ZTlido (lidocaine topical system) 1.8% (ZTlido), a prescription lidocaine topical product for the relief of neuropathic pain associated with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), which is a form of post-shingles nerve pain; ELYXYB, a ready-to-use oral solution for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults; and GLOPERBA, a liquid oral version of the anti-gout medicine colchicine indicated for the prophylaxis of painful gout flares in adults. The company is also developing three product candidates, including SP-102 (10 mg dexamethasone sodium phosphate viscous gel) (SEMDEXA), a novel viscous gel formulation of a used corticosteroid for epidural injections, which has completed a Phase 3 study to treat lumbosacral radicular pain or sciatica; SP-103 (lidocaine topical system) 5.4% (SP-103), a formulation of ZTlido for the treatment of chronic neck pain and low back pain (LBP) that has completed a Phase 2 trial; and SP-104 (4.5 mg low-dose naltrexone hydrochloride delayed-release capsules) (SP-104), a novel low-dose delayed-release naltrexone hydrochloride, which has completed Phase 1 trials for the treatment of fibromyalgia. The company is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.