Reviewing Adaptimmune Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ADAP) and NRx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:NRXP)

Adaptimmune Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ADAP) and NRx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:NRXP) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings, dividends and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

Adaptimmune Therapeutics has a beta of 2.2, indicating that its share price is 120% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NRx Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Adaptimmune Therapeutics and NRx Pharmaceuticals”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Adaptimmune Therapeutics	$141.46 million	1.23	-$113.87 million	($0.74)	-0.95
NRx Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	-$30.15 million	($3.14)	-0.40

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

Profitability

This table compares Adaptimmune Therapeutics and NRx Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Adaptimmune Therapeutics	-51.25%	-116.80%	-25.02%
NRx Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	-377.62%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

31.4% of Adaptimmune Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.3% of NRx Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.4% of Adaptimmune Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 21.1% of NRx Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by 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 Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Adaptimmune Therapeutics and NRx Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Adaptimmune Therapeutics	0	0	3	0	3.00
NRx Pharmaceuticals	0	0	2	1	3.33

Adaptimmune Therapeutics presently has a consensus target price of $3.38, indicating a potential upside of 380.25%. NRx Pharmaceuticals has a consensus target price of $31.50, indicating a potential upside of 2,380.31%. Given NRx Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe NRx Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Adaptimmune Therapeutics.

Summary

NRx Pharmaceuticals beats Adaptimmune Therapeutics on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Adaptimmune Therapeutics

Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, provides novel cell therapies primarily to cancer patients in the United States and the United Kingdom. It develops SPEARHEAD-1 that is in phase II clinical trials with ADP-A2M4 for synovial sarcoma; SURPASS-3 that is in phase II clinical trial with ADP-A2M4CD8 for people with platinum resistant ovarian cancer; and SURPASS that is in phase I clinical trials in patients with head and neck, and urothelial cancers. The company has strategic collaboration and license agreement with Genentech, Inc. and F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd to develop personalized allogeneic and allogeneic T-cell therapies; research, collaboration, and license agreement with Universal Cells, Inc.; third-party collaborations with Noile-Immune and Alpine Immune Sciences; and strategic alliance agreement with the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Abingdon, the United Kingdom.

About NRx Pharmaceuticals

NRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage bio-pharmaceutical company, develops novel therapeutics for the treatment of central nervous system disorders, including suicidal depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and chronic pain. Its products include NRX-101 (D-cycloserine/Lurasidone), an oral, fixed dosed combination of D-cycloserine and lurasidone that earned food and drug administration-designated breakthrough therapy for suicidal treatment-resistant bipolar depression; and NRX-100 (ketamine), which has been awarded FDA fast track designation for the treatment of severe bipolar depression with acute suicidal ideation and behavior. The company has a partnership with Alvogen Inc. and Lotus Pharmaceutical Company; development and manufacturing agreement with Nephron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Alcami; license agreement with Apkarian Technologies; development and license agreement with Glytech; license agreement with Sarah Herzog Memorial Hospital. The company was founded in 2015 and is based in Wilmington, Delaware.