Analyzing Vistagen Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VTGN) and Daré Bioscience (NASDAQ:DARE)

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

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Daré Bioscience and Vistagen Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Daré Bioscience	$2.81 million	9.85	-$30.16 million	($0.59)	-5.38
Vistagen Therapeutics	$1.06 million	71.57	-$29.36 million	($1.24)	-2.20

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

6.7% of Daré Bioscience shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.4% of Vistagen Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.0% of Daré Bioscience shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Vistagen Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Daré Bioscience and Vistagen Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Daré Bioscience	0	2	2	0	2.50
Vistagen Therapeutics	0	0	1	1	3.50

Daré Bioscience presently has a consensus price target of $24.00, suggesting a potential upside of 654.72%. Vistagen Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 450.46%. Given Daré Bioscience’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Daré Bioscience is more favorable than Vistagen Therapeutics.

Risk and Volatility

Daré Bioscience has a beta of 1.34, meaning that its stock price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vistagen Therapeutics has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Daré Bioscience and Vistagen Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Daré Bioscience	-191.65%	N/A	-18.98%
Vistagen Therapeutics	-4,521.71%	-36.35%	-33.62%

Summary

Daré Bioscience beats Vistagen Therapeutics on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Daré Bioscience

Daré Bioscience, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, identifies, develops, and markets products for women's health in the United States. It develops therapies in the areas of contraception, reproductive health, menopause, fertility, and sexual and vaginal health. The company offers XACIATO for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis in female patients 12 years of age and older. It is developing Ovaprene, a hormone-free, monthly intravaginal contraceptive; Sildenafil Cream, a cream formulation of sildenafil for topical administration to the female genitalia on demand for the treatment of female sexual arousal disorder; DARE-HRT1 to treat moderate to-severe vasomotor symptoms in menopausal hormone therapy; DARE-VVA1 for the treatment of moderate-to-severe dyspareunia or pain during sexual intercourse; and DARE-CIN to treat cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and other human papillomavirus related pathologies. The company is also developing DARE-PDM1 for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea; DARE-204 and DARE-214, an injectable formulations contraception of etonogestrel designed to provide contraception over 6-month and 12-month periods; DARE-FRT1, an intravaginal ring designed to deliver bio-identical progesterone for luteal phase support as part of an in vitro fertilization treatment plan; and DARE-PTB1 for the prevention of preterm birth. In addition, it is developing DARE-LARC1, a contraceptive implant delivering levonorgestrel with a woman-centered design that controlled contraceptive option; DARE-LBT, a novel hydrogel formulation for vaginal delivery of live biotherapeutics to support vaginal health; DARE-GML, a multi-target antimicrobial agent; DARE-RH1, a novel approach to non-hormonal contraception for men and women by targeting the CatSper ion channel; and DARE-PTB2 for the prevention and treatment of idiopathic preterm birth through inhibition of a stress response protein. Daré Bioscience, Inc. is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About Vistagen Therapeutics

Vistagen Therapeutics, Inc., a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, primarily focus to transform the treatment landscape for individuals living with anxiety, depression, and other central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The company's pipeline includes six clinical stage product candidates, including five investigational agents belonging to drugs known as pherines. Its product pipeline comprises PH94B, a fasedienol nasal spray, which is in Phase III development for the treatment of social anxiety disorder; and PH10, a Ituvone nasal spray which is in Phase II development for the treatment of major depressive disorder. In addition, the company is also developing PH15, an early-stage investigational synthetic neuroactive steroid for the treatment of cognition improvement; PH80, an odorless and tasteless synthetic investigational pherine for the treatment of menopausal hot flashes and migraine; PH284, an early-stage investigational synthetic neuroactive steroid for the treatment of wasting syndrome Cachexia; and AV-101, an oral nmdr glycine site antagonist for depression and neurological disorders. Further, it has a license and collaboration agreement with EverInsight Therapeutics Inc. to develop and commercialize to address ophthalmologic and CNS disorders. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.