Contrasting Nurix Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NRIX) & Athersys (NASDAQ:ATHX)

Athersys (NASDAQ:ATHX) and Nurix Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NRIX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, earnings, profitability and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Athersys and Nurix Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Athersys	0	0	0	0	0.00
Nurix Therapeutics	0	3	16	0	2.84

Nurix Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $30.44, suggesting a potential upside of 245.57%. Given Nurix Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Nurix Therapeutics is more favorable than Athersys.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

19.4% of Athersys shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Athersys shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.8% of Nurix Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Athersys has a beta of -0.9, indicating that its stock price is 190% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nurix Therapeutics has a beta of 2.23, indicating that its stock price is 123% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Athersys and Nurix Therapeutics”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Athersys	$146,000.00	0.00	-$72.53 million	($2.03)	N/A
Nurix Therapeutics	$54.55 million	12.31	-$193.57 million	($2.89)	-3.05

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

Profitability

This table compares Athersys and Nurix Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Athersys	N/A	N/A	-223.03%
Nurix Therapeutics	-354.85%	-53.65%	-38.59%

Summary

Nurix Therapeutics beats Athersys on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Athersys

Athersys, Inc., a biotechnology company, focuses on the research and development activities in the field of regenerative medicine. Its clinical development programs are focused on treating neurological conditions, cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory and immune disorders, and pulmonary and other conditions. The company's lead platform product includes MultiStem cell therapy, an allogeneic stem cell product for the treatment of patients suffering from neurological damage from an ischemic stroke, as well as for acute respiratory distress syndrome, trauma complications, HSC transplant support, and other indications. It also develops MultiStem cell therapy to promote tissue repair and healing for animal patients. The company has license and collaboration agreements with Healios K.K. to develop and commercialize MultiStem cell therapy for ischemic stroke, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and ophthalmological indications, as well as for the treatment of liver, kidney, pancreas, and intestinal tissue diseases; and the University of Minnesota to develop MultiStem cell therapy platform. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.

About Nurix Therapeutics

Nurix Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of small molecule and cell therapies for the treatment of cancer, inflammatory conditions, and other diseases. The company develops NX-2127, an orally bioavailable Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) degrader for the treatment of relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies; NX-5948, an orally bioavailable BTK degrader for the treatment of relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies and autoimmune diseases; and NX-1607, an orally bioavailable Casitas B-lineage lymphoma proto-oncogene-B (CBL-B) inhibitor for immuno-oncology indications. It is also developing NX-0479/GS-6791, a IRAK4 degrader for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. The company has a strategic collaboration agreement with Gilead Sciences, Inc., Sanofi S.A., and Seagen Inc. co-development and co-commercialization for multiple drug candidates. The company was formerly known as Nurix Inc. and changed its name to Nurix Therapeutics, Inc. in October 2018. Nurix Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.