Atyr PHARMA (NASDAQ:ATYR) vs. Quince Therapeutics (NASDAQ:QNCX) Critical Survey

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

Profitability

This table compares Quince Therapeutics and Atyr PHARMA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Quince Therapeutics	N/A	-53.27%	-22.73%
Atyr PHARMA	N/A	-79.44%	-59.16%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

30.8% of Quince Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.7% of Atyr PHARMA shares are held by institutional investors. 16.8% of Quince Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Atyr PHARMA shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Quince Therapeutics has a beta of 0.74, suggesting that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atyr PHARMA has a beta of 1.07, suggesting that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Quince Therapeutics and Atyr PHARMA, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Quince Therapeutics	0	0	2	2	3.50
Atyr PHARMA	0	0	4	0	3.00

Quince Therapeutics currently has a consensus price target of $8.50, suggesting a potential upside of 316.67%. Atyr PHARMA has a consensus price target of $19.25, suggesting a potential upside of 445.33%. Given Atyr PHARMA’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Atyr PHARMA is more favorable than Quince Therapeutics.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Quince Therapeutics and Atyr PHARMA”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Quince Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$31.39 million	($1.24)	-1.65
Atyr PHARMA	$350,000.00	846.59	-$50.39 million	($0.94)	-3.76

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

Summary

Quince Therapeutics beats Atyr PHARMA on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Quince Therapeutics

Quince Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on acquiring, developing, and commercializing therapeutics for patients with debilitating and rare diseases. The company's lead asset candidature comprises EryDex for the treatment of rare pediatric neurodegenerative disease, including A-T, an inherited autosomal recessive neurodegenerative and immunodeficiency disorder caused by mutations in ATM gene. Its AIDE technology platform, a drug/device combination platform that uses an automated process to encapsulate a drug into a patient's own red blood cells, as well as consists of an automated equipment the RCL, a sterile single-use consumable treatment kit comprising EryKit, Syringe Kit, drugs, and process solutions. The company was formerly known as Cortexyme, Inc. and changed its name to Quince Therapeutics, Inc. in August 2022. Quince Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.

About Atyr PHARMA

aTyr Pharma, Inc., a biotherapeutics company, engages in the discovery and development of medicines based on novel immunological pathways in the United States. Its lead therapeutic candidate is efzofitimod, a selective modulator of NRP2 that is in Phase III clinical trial for pulmonary sarcoidosis; and in Phase 1b/2a clinical trial for treatment of other interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), such as chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis and connective tissue disease related ILD. The company is developing ATYR0101, a fusion protein derived from a domain of aspartyl-tRNA synthetase that is in preclinical development for the treatment of fibrosis; and ATYR0750, a domain of alanyl-tRNA synthetase for the treatment of liver disorders. It has collaboration and license agreement with Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for the development and commercialization of efzofitimod for ILDs in Japan. aTyr Pharma, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.