Vistagen Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VTGN) versus Minerva Neurosciences (NASDAQ:NERV) Head-To-Head Survey

Minerva Neurosciences (NASDAQ:NERV) and Vistagen Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VTGN) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Minerva Neurosciences and Vistagen Therapeutics”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Minerva Neurosciences	N/A	N/A	-$30.00 million	($0.44)	-4.86
Vistagen Therapeutics	$1.06 million	69.60	-$29.36 million	($1.24)	-2.14

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

34.6% of Minerva Neurosciences shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.4% of Vistagen Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.6% of Minerva Neurosciences 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 hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Minerva Neurosciences and Vistagen Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Minerva Neurosciences	0	1	0	0	2.00
Vistagen Therapeutics	0	0	1	1	3.50

Minerva Neurosciences currently has a consensus price target of $5.00, suggesting a potential upside of 133.64%. Vistagen Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 466.04%. Given Vistagen Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Vistagen Therapeutics is more favorable than Minerva Neurosciences.

Risk & Volatility

Minerva Neurosciences has a beta of 0.18, meaning that its share price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vistagen Therapeutics has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Minerva Neurosciences and Vistagen Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Minerva Neurosciences	N/A	N/A	-6.74%
Vistagen Therapeutics	-4,521.71%	-36.35%	-33.62%

Summary

Vistagen Therapeutics beats Minerva Neurosciences on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Minerva Neurosciences

Minerva Neurosciences, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of product candidates for the treatment of central nervous system diseases. Its lead product candidate is roluperidone (MIN-101) for the treatment of negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia, currently submitted an New Drug Application (NDA); and MIN-301, a soluble recombinant form of the neuregulin-1b1 protein for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. The company has a license agreement with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation to develop, sell, and import roluperidone globally excluding Asia. Minerva Neurosciences, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Burlington, Massachusetts.

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.