Protara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TARA) and Elevation Oncology (NASDAQ:ELEV) Critical Review

Elevation Oncology (NASDAQ:ELEV) and Protara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TARA) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Elevation Oncology and Protara Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Elevation Oncology	N/A	-59.35%	-38.54%
Protara Therapeutics	N/A	-58.80%	-51.37%

Volatility and Risk

Elevation Oncology has a beta of 1.38, indicating that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Protara Therapeutics has a beta of 1.85, indicating that its share price is 85% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Elevation Oncology and Protara Therapeutics’ gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Elevation Oncology	N/A	N/A	-$45.70 million	($1.04)	-0.75
Protara Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$40.42 million	($3.74)	-0.55

Elevation Oncology is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Protara Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

83.7% of Elevation Oncology shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.1% of Protara Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.1% of Elevation Oncology shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 12.5% of Protara Therapeutics 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Elevation Oncology and Protara Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Elevation Oncology	0	0	5	0	3.00
Protara Therapeutics	0	0	2	0	3.00

Elevation Oncology currently has a consensus price target of $7.80, indicating a potential upside of 899.74%. Protara Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $26.50, indicating a potential upside of 1,180.19%. Given Protara Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Protara Therapeutics is more favorable than Elevation Oncology.

Summary

Protara Therapeutics beats Elevation Oncology on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Elevation Oncology

Elevation Oncology, Inc., an oncology company, focuses on the discovery and development of cancer therapies to treat patients across a range of solid tumors with significant unmet medical needs. The company's lead candidate is EO-3021, an antibody-drug conjugate designed to target Claudin 18.2, a clinically validated molecular target. Its EO-3021 selectively delivers a cytotoxic payload directly to cancer cells expressing Claudin 18.2. Elevation Oncology, Inc. has a license agreement with CSPC Megalith Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. to develop and commercialize EO-3021. The company was formerly known as 14ner Oncology, Inc. and changed its name to Elevation Oncology, Inc. in February 2020. The company was incorporated in 2019 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts.

About Protara Therapeutics

Protara Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in advancing transformative therapies for the treatment of cancer and rare diseases. The company's lead program is TARA-002, an investigational cell therapy, which is in Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer and lymphatic malformations. It is also developing intravenous choline chloride, an investigational phospholipid substrate replacement therapy that is in Phase II clinical trial for patients receiving parenteral nutrition. The company is headquartered in New York, New York.