Pyxis Oncology (NASDAQ:PYXS) vs. Applied Therapeutics (NASDAQ:APLT) Head-To-Head Survey

Pyxis Oncology (NASDAQ:PYXS) and Applied Therapeutics (NASDAQ:APLT) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

Pyxis Oncology has a beta of 1.33, meaning that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Applied Therapeutics has a beta of 1.88, meaning that its share price is 88% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Pyxis Oncology and Applied Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pyxis Oncology	N/A	-38.99%	-30.59%
Applied Therapeutics	N/A	-1,497.37%	-176.54%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

39.1% of Pyxis Oncology shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.3% of Applied Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.3% of Pyxis Oncology shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.6% of Applied Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Pyxis Oncology and Applied Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pyxis Oncology	0	0	7	0	3.00
Applied Therapeutics	0	0	5	0	3.00

Pyxis Oncology presently has a consensus price target of $8.80, suggesting a potential upside of 174.14%. Applied Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $11.00, suggesting a potential upside of 139.13%. Given Pyxis Oncology’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Pyxis Oncology is more favorable than Applied Therapeutics.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Pyxis Oncology and Applied Therapeutics’ gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pyxis Oncology	N/A	N/A	-$73.79 million	($1.36)	-2.36
Applied Therapeutics	$9.99 million	52.62	-$119.76 million	($1.84)	-2.50

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

Summary

Pyxis Oncology beats Applied Therapeutics on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pyxis Oncology

Pyxis Oncology, Inc., a clinical stage company, engages in the development of therapeutics to treat cancers. Its lead antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) product candidate is PYX-201, an investigational novel ADC consisting of human immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1), which is in Phase 1 clinical trial to treat patients with relapsed or refractory solid tumors; and lead immuno-oncology (IO) product candidate is PYX-106, an investigational fully human IgG1 Siglec-15-targeting antibody that is in Phase 1 clinical trial to treat patients with advanced solid tumors. The company is also developing PYX-107, a CD40 agonist with demonstrated anti-cancer activity in patients who previously progressed on PD-(L)1 inhibitors, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of solid tumors, such as soft tissue sarcomas, esophageal and gastroesophageal junction, cancers, and melanoma in combination with chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy. It has in-license agreement with Pfizer Inc. to develop and commercialize ADC product candidates directed to certain licensed targets, including PYX-201 and PYX-203, and products containing the ADC product candidates; and Biosion USA, Inc. for development, manufacture, and commercialization of PYX-106, an IO product candidate. Pyxis Oncology, Inc. was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

About Applied Therapeutics

Applied Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of a pipeline of novel product candidates against validated molecular targets in indications of high unmet medical need in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is AT-007 (also called govorestat) that has completed phase 3 for the treatment of galactosemia in healthy volunteers and adults, in pediatric clinical study for the treatment of galactosemia in kids, for treating enzyme sorbitol dehydrogenase, and for the treatment of phosphomannomutase enzyme-CDG. It also develops AT-001 (also called caficrestat) that is in phase 3 clinical trials to treat diabetic cardiomyopathy, as well as for the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy; and AT-003, which is in preclinical studies for the treatment diabetic retinopathy. The company has exclusive license and supply agreement with Mercury Pharma Group Limited to commercialize drug products containing AT-007. Applied Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in New York, New York.