KALA BIO (NASDAQ:KALA) and Prothena (NASDAQ:PRTA) Financial Survey

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

Profitability

This table compares KALA BIO and Prothena’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
KALA BIO	N/A	-448.61%	-69.37%
Prothena	-98.86%	-24.19%	-20.59%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for KALA BIO and Prothena, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
KALA BIO	0	0	2	0	3.00
Prothena	0	2	5	0	2.71

KALA BIO presently has a consensus price target of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 37.87%. Prothena has a consensus price target of $46.50, suggesting a potential upside of 237.20%. Given Prothena’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Prothena is more favorable than KALA BIO.

Volatility & Risk

KALA BIO has a beta of -2.03, indicating that its share price is 303% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Prothena has a beta of 0.08, indicating that its share price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares KALA BIO and Prothena”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
KALA BIO	$3.89 million	17.03	-$42.20 million	($12.47)	-0.87
Prothena	$91.37 million	8.12	-$147.03 million	($2.48)	-5.56

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

24.6% of KALA BIO shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.1% of Prothena shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.3% of KALA BIO shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 28.2% of Prothena shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Prothena beats KALA BIO on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About KALA BIO

KALA BIO, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, and commercialization of innovative therapies for rare and severe eye diseases in the United States. The company's product candidates include KPI-012, which is in Phase 2b clinical trial for the treatment of persistent corneal epithelial defects. Its preclinical development product, including KPI-014 for the treatment of rare inherited retinal diseases. The company was formerly known as Kala Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed its name to KALA BIO, Inc. in August 2023. KALA BIO, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Arlington, Massachusetts.

About Prothena

Prothena Corporation plc, a late-stage clinical biotechnology company, focuses on discovery and development of novel therapies to treat diseases caused by protein dysregulation in the United States. The company is involved in developing birtamimab, an investigational humanized antibody that is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of AL amyloidosis; Prasinezumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other related synucleinopathies which is in Phase IIb clinical trial; NNC6019 that is in Phase lI clinical trial for the treatment of ATTR amyloidosis; and BMS-986446 and PRX012, which is in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Its discovery and preclinical programs include PRX123, a dual Aß-Tau vaccine for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease; and PRX019 for the treatment of neurogenerative diseases, as well as TDP-43 for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Prothena Corporation plc has a license, development, and commercialization agreement with F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. to develop and commercialize antibodies that target a-synuclein, including prasinezumab; and a collaboration agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb to develop and commercialize antibodies targeting tau, TDP-43. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.