Contrasting Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) & China SXT Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SXTC)

Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) and China SXT Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SXTC) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, valuation, risk, earnings and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Aquestive Therapeutics and China SXT Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aquestive Therapeutics	0	0	6	1	3.14
China SXT Pharmaceuticals	0	0	0	0	N/A

Aquestive Therapeutics currently has a consensus target price of $8.83, suggesting a potential upside of 60.02%. Given Aquestive Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Aquestive Therapeutics is more favorable than China SXT Pharmaceuticals.

Volatility & Risk

Aquestive Therapeutics has a beta of 2.85, meaning that its share price is 185% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, China SXT Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Aquestive Therapeutics and China SXT Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aquestive Therapeutics	-44.07%	N/A	-28.26%
China SXT Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional & Insider Ownership

32.5% of Aquestive Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.0% of China SXT Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. 7.9% of Aquestive Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of China SXT Pharmaceuticals shares are held by 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Aquestive Therapeutics and China SXT Pharmaceuticals”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aquestive Therapeutics	$50.58 million	9.94	-$7.87 million	($0.35)	-15.77
China SXT Pharmaceuticals	$1.93 million	0.13	-$3.10 million	N/A	N/A

China SXT Pharmaceuticals has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Aquestive Therapeutics.

Summary

Aquestive Therapeutics beats China SXT Pharmaceuticals on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aquestive Therapeutics

Aquestive Therapeutics, Inc. operates as a pharmaceutical company in the United States and internationally. The company markets Sympazan, an oral soluble film formulation of clobazam for the treatment of lennox-gastaut syndrome; Suboxone, a sublingual film formulation of buprenorphine and naloxone for the treatment of opioid dependence; Zuplenz, an oral soluble film formulation of ondansetron for the treatment of nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy and post-operative recovery; and Azstarys, a once-daily product for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Its proprietary product candidates comprise Libervant, a buccal soluble film formulation of diazepam for the treatment of seizures; KYNMOBI, a sublingual film formulation of apomorphine for the treatment of episodic off-periods in Parkinson's disease; and Exservan, an oral soluble film formulation of riluzole for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The company's proprietary pipeline of complex molecule product includes AQST-108, a sublingual film formulation delivering systemic epinephrine for the treatment of conditions other than anaphylaxis; and Anaphylm, an epinephrine sublingual film for the emergency treatment of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. In addition, it develops Adrenaverse, an epinephrine prodrug platform. The company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Warren, New Jersey.

About China SXT Pharmaceuticals

China SXT Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of traditional Chinese medicine pieces (TCMP) in China. The company offers advanced, fine, and regular TCMP products, and raw medicinal material, such as ChenXiang, SanQiFen, HongQi, SuMu, JiangXiang, CuYanHuSuo, XiaTianWu, LuXueJing, XueJie, ChaoSuanZaoRen, HongQuMi, ChuanBeiMu, HuangShuKuiHua, WuWeiZi, DingXiang, RenShen, QingGuo, JueMingZi, and ShaRen. It provides its products under the Suxuantang, Hui Chun Tang, and Tong Ren Tang brands. The company had an end-customer base of pharmaceutical companies, chain pharmacies, and hospitals in 10 provinces and municipalities in China. China SXT Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Taizhou, China.