Contrasting Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GALT) & Galera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GRTX)

Galera Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GRTX) and Galectin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:GALT) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Galera Therapeutics and Galectin Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Galera Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-116.47%
Galectin Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-184.63%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Galera Therapeutics and Galectin Therapeutics”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Galera Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$59.08 million	($0.99)	-0.08
Galectin Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$41.07 million	($0.74)	-3.74

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

Risk and Volatility

Galera Therapeutics has a beta of 1.94, meaning that its stock price is 94% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Galectin Therapeutics has a beta of 0.62, meaning that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

50.8% of Galera Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 11.7% of Galectin Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 6.9% of Galera Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 52.7% of Galectin Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Galera Therapeutics and Galectin Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Galera Therapeutics	0	0	0	0	N/A
Galectin Therapeutics	0	0	1	0	3.00

Galectin Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $11.00, suggesting a potential upside of 297.11%. Given Galectin Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Galectin Therapeutics is more favorable than Galera Therapeutics.

Summary

Galectin Therapeutics beats Galera Therapeutics on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Galera Therapeutics

Galera Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for the transformation of radiotherapy in cancer. The company's lead product candidate is avasopasem manganese (GC4419), a small molecule dismutase mimetic for the treatment of radiotherapy induced severe oral mucositis in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC); for the treatment of radiotherapy-induced esophagitis in patients with lung cancer; and for patients with HNC undergoing standard-of-care radiotherapy. It also develops rucosopasem manganese (rucosopasem) to augment the anti-cancer efficacy of stereotactic body radiation therapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer and locally advanced pancreatic cancer. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

About Galectin Therapeutics

Galectin Therapeutics Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research and development of therapies for fibrotic, cancer, and other diseases. Its lead product candidate is belapectin (GR-MD-02) galectin-3 inhibitor, that is in Phase 2b/3 clinical trial, to prevent esophageal varices in patient with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) cirrhosis; and Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of liver fibrosis, as well as severe skin disease, and melanoma and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The company, through its Galectin Sciences, LLC, which is a collaborative joint venture co-owned by SBH Sciences, Inc., to research and develop small organic molecule inhibitors of galectin-3 for oral administration. The company was formerly known as Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed its name to Galectin Therapeutics, Inc. in May 2011. Galectin Therapeutics Inc. was founded in 2000 and is based in Norcross, Georgia.