Financial Analysis: X4 Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XFOR) and Fresh Tracks Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FRTX)

Fresh Tracks Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FRTX – Get Rating) and X4 Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XFOR – Get Rating) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Fresh Tracks Therapeutics and X4 Pharmaceuticals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fresh Tracks Therapeutics	0	0	0	0	N/A
X4 Pharmaceuticals	0	0	5	0	3.00

Fresh Tracks Therapeutics currently has a consensus price target of $4.00, suggesting a potential upside of 76.99%. X4 Pharmaceuticals has a consensus price target of $6.86, suggesting a potential upside of 529.10%. Given X4 Pharmaceuticals’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe X4 Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Fresh Tracks Therapeutics.

Profitability

This table compares Fresh Tracks Therapeutics and X4 Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fresh Tracks Therapeutics	-453.11%	-133.55%	-108.52%
X4 Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-184.37%	-92.38%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Fresh Tracks Therapeutics and X4 Pharmaceuticals’ top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fresh Tracks Therapeutics	$400,000.00	16.24	-$39.47 million	($8.39)	-0.27
X4 Pharmaceuticals	$3.00 million	25.16	-$88.70 million	($2.82)	-0.39

Fresh Tracks Therapeutics has higher earnings, but lower revenue than X4 Pharmaceuticals. X4 Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fresh Tracks Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Fresh Tracks Therapeutics has a beta of 0.29, meaning that its stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, X4 Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.48, meaning that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

7.7% of Fresh Tracks Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of X4 Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.5% of Fresh Tracks Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 95.9% of X4 Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

X4 Pharmaceuticals beats Fresh Tracks Therapeutics on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fresh Tracks Therapeutics

(Get Rating)

Fresh Tracks Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, engages in the development of various prescription therapeutics for the treatment of autoimmune, inflammatory, and other debilitating diseases in the United States. The company develops sofpironium bromide, which has completed Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of primary axillary hyperhidrosis; BBI-02, an oral DYRK1A inhibitor for the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases; and BBI-10, a covalent stimulator of interferon genes inhibitor for the potential treatment of autoinflammatory and rare genetic diseases, as well as next-generation kinase inhibitors. It has license and collaboration agreements with Carna Biosciences, Inc., Voronoi Inc., Bodor Laboratories, Inc. and Dr. Nicholas S. Bodor, and AnGes, Inc. The company was formerly known as Brickell Biotech, Inc. and changed its name to Fresh Tracks Therapeutics, Inc. in September 2022. Fresh Tracks Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.

About X4 Pharmaceuticals

(Get Rating)

X4 Pharmaceuticals, Inc. operates as a biotechnology company, which engages in developing human antibodies for treating infectious diseases. The company focuses on restoring healthy immune system function by developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of rare diseases. Its products in pipeline include X4P-001, X4P-002, and X4P-003. The company was founded by Henri A. Termeer, Keith T. Flaherty, Renato T. Skerlj, Richard Peters and Paula Ragan in 2010 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.