Analyzing Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) and Newron Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:NWPHF)

Vera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERA) and Newron Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:NWPHF) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Volatility and Risk

Vera Therapeutics has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Newron Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.53, indicating that its share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

99.2% of Vera Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 21.7% of Vera Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Vera Therapeutics and Newron Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vera Therapeutics	0	1	6	1	3.00
Newron Pharmaceuticals	0	0	0	0	N/A

Vera Therapeutics presently has a consensus target price of $42.86, indicating a potential upside of 19.68%. Given Vera Therapeutics’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Vera Therapeutics is more favorable than Newron Pharmaceuticals.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Vera Therapeutics and Newron Pharmaceuticals’ revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vera Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$95.99 million	($2.05)	-17.42
Newron Pharmaceuticals	$6.82 million	23.82	-$17.63 million	N/A	N/A

Newron Pharmaceuticals has higher revenue and earnings than Vera Therapeutics.

Profitability

This table compares Vera Therapeutics and Newron Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vera Therapeutics	N/A	-52.43%	-39.06%
Newron Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Vera Therapeutics beats Newron Pharmaceuticals on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vera Therapeutics

Vera Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company, focuses on developing and commercializing treatments for patients with serious immunological diseases. Its lead product candidate is atacicept, a fusion protein self-administered as a subcutaneous injection that is in Phase III clinical trial for patients with immunoglobulin A nephropathy; and for treatment of lupus nephritis that is in Phase II clinical trial. It is also developing MAU868, a human monoclonal antibody for the treatment of BK viremia infections. The company was formerly known as Trucode Gene Repair, Inc. and changed its name to Vera Therapeutics, Inc. in April 2020. Vera Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Brisbane, California.

About Newron Pharmaceuticals

Newron Pharmaceuticals S.p.A., a biopharmaceutical company, focus on the development of novel therapies for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) and pain in Italy and the United States. It offers Xadago (safinamide), a chemical entity for the treatment of Parkinson's in the European Union, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia, Canada, Latin America, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, and South Korea. The company's product pipeline includes Evenamide, an add-on therapy for the treatment of Schizophrenia and treatment-resistant schizophrenia, which is in Phase III clinical trial; and Ralfinamide for the treatment of rare neuropathic pain indication. In addition, it has a strategic partnership with Zambon for the commercialization of safinamide; and license agreement with Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd., for research, develop, manufacture, and marketing of safinamide. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Bresso, Italy.