Aridis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARDS) & Cartesian Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RNAC) Financial Analysis

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

87.0% of Cartesian Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 9.7% of Aridis Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 61.1% of Cartesian Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of Aridis Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Cartesian Therapeutics has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aridis 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 Cartesian Therapeutics and Aridis Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cartesian Therapeutics	-983.93%	-58.21%	-18.77%
Aridis Pharmaceuticals	-5.11%	N/A	-20.47%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Cartesian Therapeutics and Aridis Pharmaceuticals’ top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cartesian Therapeutics	$26.00 million	19.53	-$219.71 million	N/A	N/A
Aridis Pharmaceuticals	$3.09 million	0.97	-$30.37 million	($0.16)	-0.38

Aridis Pharmaceuticals has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Cartesian Therapeutics.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Cartesian Therapeutics and Aridis Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cartesian Therapeutics	0	0	6	0	3.00
Aridis Pharmaceuticals	0	0	1	0	3.00

Cartesian Therapeutics currently has a consensus price target of $45.00, suggesting a potential upside of 57.78%. Aridis Pharmaceuticals has a consensus price target of $2.00, suggesting a potential upside of 3,178.69%. Given Aridis Pharmaceuticals’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Aridis Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Cartesian Therapeutics.

Summary

Cartesian Therapeutics beats Aridis Pharmaceuticals on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cartesian Therapeutics

Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in the provision of mRNA cell therapies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. It develops Descartes-08, an autologous anti-BCMA RNA-engineered chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, currently under Phase 2b clinical development for generalized myasthenia gravis, as well as for patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, and myeloma autoimmune basket trials for other autoimmune diseases. The company develops Descartes-15 to treat Autoimmune diseases, myeloma; and Descartes-33 which is in preclinical development for treatment of autoimmune diseases. Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc. is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

About Aridis Pharmaceuticals

Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a late-stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers and develops targeted immunotherapy using fully human monoclonal antibodies (mAb) to treat life-threatening infections. Its lead product candidate is AR-301, a fully human mAb of immunoglobulin 1 (IgG1) that has completed Phase III pivotal trials for the treatment of lung infections resulting from S. aureus alphatoxin, as well as developing AR-301 as an adjunctive therapy with SOC antibiotics to treat hospital acquired pneumonia and ventilator associated pneumonia. The company is also developing AR-320, a fully human IgG1 monoclonal antibody targeting S. aureus alpha toxin to treat infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus; AR 501, an inhaled gallium citrate, which is in Phase 1/2a for the treatment of chronic lung infection associated with cystic fibrosis; and AR-101, a human IgM mAb, which is in Phase II clinical trials targeting Pseudomonas aeruginosa liposaccharides serotype O11. In addition, it develops AR-401 that is in preclinical stage to treat infections caused by Acinetobacter baumannii; AR-201, a fully human IgG1 mAb preclinical program for respiratory syncytial virus; and AR-701, a cocktail of two fully human immunoglobulin 1. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California.