Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND – Get Free Report) and Cara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CARA – Get Free Report) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation and analyst recommendations.
Risk and Volatility
Ascendis Pharma A/S has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cara Therapeutics has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Ascendis Pharma A/S and Cara Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Ascendis Pharma A/S | -154.18% | -16,574.15% | -59.81% |
| Cara Therapeutics | -1,010.20% | -241.31% | -110.04% |
Valuation & Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Ascendis Pharma A/S | $317.63 million | 27.02 | -$521.07 million | ($9.61) | -15.33 |
| Cara Therapeutics | $11.00 million | 1.43 | -$118.51 million | ($2.25) | -0.13 |
Cara Therapeutics has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ascendis Pharma A/S. Ascendis Pharma A/S is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cara Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Ascendis Pharma A/S and Cara Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Ascendis Pharma A/S | 0 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 2.93 |
| Cara Therapeutics | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Ascendis Pharma A/S presently has a consensus price target of $195.00, suggesting a potential upside of 32.33%. Cara Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $2.32, suggesting a potential upside of 705.84%. Given Cara Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Cara Therapeutics is more favorable than Ascendis Pharma A/S.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
44.7% of Cara Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 40.0% of Ascendis Pharma A/S shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.1% of Cara Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
About Ascendis Pharma A/S
Ascendis Pharma A/S, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing therapies for unmet medical needs. It offers SKYTROFA for treating patients with growth hormone deficiency (GHD). The company is also developing a pipeline of three independent endocrinology rare disease product candidates in clinical development, as well as focuses on advancing oncology therapeutic candidates. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Hellerup, Denmark.
About Cara Therapeutics
Cara Therapeutics, Inc., a development-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapeutics treatment of chronic pruritus in the United States. The company's lead product is KORSUVA (difelikefalin) injection for the treatment of moderate-to-severe pruritus associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in adults undergoing hemodialysis. It also develops Oral difelikefalin, which is in Phase II/III clinical trial to treat chronic pruritus with notalgia paresthetica. The company has license agreements with Maruishi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd to develop, manufacture, and commercialize drug products containing difelikefalin for acute pain and uremic pruritus in Japan; Vifor Fresenius Medical Care Renal Pharma Ltd. development and commercialization of KORSUVA injection for the treatment of moderate-to-severe pruritus in adult patients undergoing hemodialysis; and Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Corporation to develop, manufacture, and commercialize drug products containing difelikefalin in South Korea. Cara Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is based in Stamford, Connecticut.
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