Head-To-Head Comparison: Appili Therapeutics (OTCMKTS:APLIF) and Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS)

Appili Therapeutics (OTCMKTS:APLIF) and Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

Appili Therapeutics has a beta of -0.52, indicating that its stock price is 152% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aclaris Therapeutics has a beta of 0.54, indicating that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Appili Therapeutics and Aclaris Therapeutics”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Appili Therapeutics	$630,000.00	4.70	-$2.80 million	($0.02)	-1.22
Aclaris Therapeutics	$27.08 million	6.52	-$88.48 million	($0.52)	-4.75

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

Profitability

This table compares Appili Therapeutics and Aclaris Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Appili Therapeutics	-450.64%	N/A	-187.38%
Aclaris Therapeutics	-136.65%	-40.26%	-31.71%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Appili Therapeutics and Aclaris Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Appili Therapeutics	0	0	0	0	0.00
Aclaris Therapeutics	0	0	6	1	3.14

Aclaris Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $11.00, indicating a potential upside of 345.34%. Given Aclaris Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Aclaris Therapeutics is more favorable than Appili Therapeutics.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

98.3% of Aclaris Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.8% of Appili Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.4% of Aclaris Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Aclaris Therapeutics beats Appili Therapeutics on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Appili Therapeutics

Appili Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the acquisition and development of novel medicines for unmet needs in infectious disease in Canada. Its anti-infective portfolio includes ATI-1501, a taste-masked liquid oral suspension formulation of the antibiotic metronidazole to treat anaerobic bacterial, protozoal, and parasitic infections; ATI-1801, a novel topical formulation of paromomycin in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis and disfiguring skin infections; and ATI-1701, which is a live-attenuated vaccine in preclinical trials for Francisella tularensis. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Halifax, Canada.

About Aclaris Therapeutics

Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc. a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of novel drug candidates for immune-inflammatory diseases in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Therapeutics and Contract Research. The Therapeutics segment is involved in identifying and developing therapies to address significant unmet needs for immuno-inflammatory diseases. The Contract Research segment provides laboratory services. It develops Zunsemetinib (ATI-450), an MK2 inhibitor which is under Phase 1b/2 trials for the treatment of metastatic breast and pancreatic cancer; ATI-1777, a soft JAK 1/3 inhibitor, completed Phase 2b trails for the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis and other dermatologic conditions; and ATI-2138, an oral covalent inhibitor of ITK and JAK3 inhibitor under Phase 1 trials as a treatment for T cell-mediated autoimmune diseases. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania.