Financial Contrast: Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) vs. Biodexa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BDRX)

Biodexa Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BDRX) and Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, valuation, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

Biodexa Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.91, meaning that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Arcutis Biotherapeutics has a beta of 2.06, meaning that its stock price is 106% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Biodexa Pharmaceuticals and Arcutis Biotherapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Biodexa Pharmaceuticals	1	0	0	0	1.00
Arcutis Biotherapeutics	1	1	6	0	2.63

Arcutis Biotherapeutics has a consensus target price of $19.80, indicating a potential downside of 4.44%. Given Arcutis Biotherapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Arcutis Biotherapeutics is more favorable than Biodexa Pharmaceuticals.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Biodexa Pharmaceuticals and Arcutis Biotherapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Biodexa Pharmaceuticals	$470,000.00	10.33	-$7.32 million	N/A	N/A
Arcutis Biotherapeutics	$196.54 million	12.64	-$140.04 million	($0.75)	-27.63

Biodexa Pharmaceuticals has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Arcutis Biotherapeutics.

Profitability

This table compares Biodexa Pharmaceuticals and Arcutis Biotherapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Biodexa Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	N/A
Arcutis Biotherapeutics	-35.40%	-62.62%	-25.16%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

17.5% of Biodexa Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Biodexa Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 9.4% of Arcutis Biotherapeutics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Arcutis Biotherapeutics beats Biodexa Pharmaceuticals on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Biodexa Pharmaceuticals

Biodexa Pharmaceuticals Plc, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing a pipeline of products for the treatment of Type 1 diabetes and rare/orphan cancers of the brain. Its lead product candidate Tolimidone, a selective activator of the lyn kinase enzyme, currently under Phase II studies for the treatment of Type 1 diabetes. The company is also developing MTX110, which is currently in Phase I studies for the treatment of diffuse intrinsic recurrent glioblastoma, diffuse midline glioma, and medulloblastoma; and MTD217, a program centered around a water-soluble drug formulation that can be easily infused or injected simultaneously, or sequentially, directly into the cancer microenvironment, currently under preclinical studies for the treatment of leptomeningeal disease. In addition, the company offers drug delivery platforms, such as Q-Sphera, a polymer microsphere microtechnology used for sustained release drug delivery; MidaSolve, an oligosaccharide nanotechnology used to solubilize drugs so that they can be administered in liquid form directly and locally into tumors; and MidaCore, a gold nanoparticle used for targeting sites of disease by using chemotherapeutic agents or immunotherapeutic agents. It has collaboration agreements with Janssen and Melior. The company was formerly known as Midatech Pharma plc and changed its name to Biodexa Pharmaceuticals Plc in March 2023. Biodexa Pharmaceuticals Plc was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Cardiff, the United Kingdom.

About Arcutis Biotherapeutics

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing treatments for dermatological diseases. Its lead product candidate is ARQ-151, a topical roflumilast cream that has completed Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of plaque psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. The company is also developing ARQ-154, a topical ZORYVE for the treatment of scalp and body psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis; ARQ-252, a selective topical janus kinase type 1 inhibitor for hand eczema and vitiligo; ARQ-255, a topical JAK1 inhibitor for alopecia areata; and ARQ-234, a CD200R fusion protein for the treatment of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis. The company was formerly known as Arcutis, Inc. and changed its name to Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. in October 2019. Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Westlake Village, California.