Analyzing Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) and Entrada Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TRDA)

Entrada Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TRDA) and Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Entrada Therapeutics	$210.78 million	1.71	-$6.68 million	$1.91	5.01
Aurinia Pharmaceuticals	$235.13 million	4.84	-$78.02 million	$0.05	165.80

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

86.4% of Entrada Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.8% of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. 7.6% of Entrada Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals shares are held 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Entrada Therapeutics and Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Entrada Therapeutics	0	0	3	1	3.25
Aurinia Pharmaceuticals	0	0	2	0	3.00

Entrada Therapeutics presently has a consensus target price of $25.67, suggesting a potential upside of 168.48%. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a consensus target price of $11.50, suggesting a potential upside of 38.72%. Given Entrada Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Entrada Therapeutics is more favorable than Aurinia Pharmaceuticals.

Volatility & Risk

Entrada Therapeutics has a beta of -0.14, suggesting that its stock price is 114% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.26, suggesting that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Entrada Therapeutics and Aurinia Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Entrada Therapeutics	25.53%	16.11%	10.39%
Aurinia Pharmaceuticals	-10.23%	-4.41%	-3.07%

Summary

Entrada Therapeutics beats Aurinia Pharmaceuticals on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Entrada Therapeutics

Entrada Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops endosomal escape vehicle (EEV) therapeutics for the treatment of multiple neuromuscular diseases. Its EEV platform develops a portfolio of oligonucleotide, antibody, and enzyme-based programs. Its therapeutic candidates, which include ENTR-601-44, which is in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy; and ENTR-701, which is in Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of myotonic dystrophy type 1. The company also offers ENTR-601-45 and ENTR-601-50, which are in preclinical trail for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy; and ENTR-501, an intracellular thymidine phosphorylase enzyme replacement therapy, which is in preclinical trail for the treatment of mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy. Entrada Therapeutics, Inc. has a strategic collaboration and license agreement with Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated to research, develop, manufacture, and commercialize ENTR-701. The company was formerly known as CycloPorters, Inc. and changed its name to Entrada Therapeutics, Inc. in October 2017. Entrada Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

About Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc., a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies to treat various diseases with unmet medical need in the United States. It offers LUPKYNIS for the treatment of adult patients with active lupus nephritis. It has a collaboration and license agreement with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. The company was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Edmonton, Canada.