Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) & Oncocyte (NASDAQ:IMDX) Head-To-Head Review

Aclaris Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACRS) and Oncocyte (NASDAQ:IMDX) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and risk.

Risk and Volatility

Aclaris Therapeutics has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oncocyte has a beta of 1.8, indicating that its stock price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

98.3% of Aclaris Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.3% of Oncocyte shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.8% of Aclaris Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Oncocyte shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aclaris Therapeutics	-921.50%	-61.65%	-42.41%
Oncocyte	-2,955.63%	N/A	-107.52%

Analyst Recommendations

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aclaris Therapeutics	1	0	5	3	3.11
Oncocyte	1	0	2	0	2.33

Aclaris Therapeutics presently has a consensus target price of $11.33, indicating a potential upside of 203.03%. Oncocyte has a consensus target price of $10.50, indicating a potential upside of 283.21%. Given Oncocyte’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Oncocyte is more favorable than Aclaris Therapeutics.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Aclaris Therapeutics and Oncocyte”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aclaris Therapeutics	$7.83 million	66.79	-$64.92 million	($0.58)	-6.45
Oncocyte	$1.67 million	53.69	-$50.22 million	($1.49)	-1.84

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

Summary

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

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.

About Oncocyte

OncoCyte Corporation, a molecular diagnostics company, researches, develops, and commercializes proprietary laboratory-developed tests for the detection of cancer in the United States and internationally. The company offers DetermaRx, a molecular test for early-stage adenocarcinoma of the lung; and DetermaIO, a proprietary gene expression assay. It also provides biomarker discovery testing, assay design and development, and clinical trial support services, as well as various biomarker tests for pharmaceutical companies. The company has a collaboration agreement with Life Technologies Corporation to develop and collaborate in the commercialization of Oncomine Comprehensive Assay Plus and Determa IO assay for use with Ion Torrent Genexus integrated sequencer and purification system. OncoCyte Corporation was incorporated in 2009 and is based in Irvine, California.