Analyzing Histogen (NASDAQ:HSTO) and Alterity Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ATHE)

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

Risk and Volatility

Alterity Therapeutics has a beta of 0.66, meaning that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Histogen has a beta of 1.19, meaning that its share price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

2.1% of Alterity Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 38.8% of Alterity Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of Histogen shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Alterity Therapeutics and Histogen, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alterity Therapeutics	0	0	2	0	3.00
Histogen	0	0	0	0	0.00

Alterity Therapeutics currently has a consensus target price of $6.00, indicating a potential upside of 79.64%. Given Alterity Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Alterity Therapeutics is more favorable than Histogen.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Alterity Therapeutics and Histogen”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alterity Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$12.54 million	N/A	N/A
Histogen	$19,000.00	6.23	-$10.62 million	($2.81)	-0.01

Histogen has higher revenue and earnings than Alterity Therapeutics.

Profitability

This table compares Alterity Therapeutics and Histogen’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alterity Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	N/A
Histogen	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Alterity Therapeutics beats Histogen on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alterity Therapeutics

Alterity Therapeutics Limited engages in the research and development of therapeutic drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other neurological disorders in Australia. The company’s lead drug candidate is ATH434 that is in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. It is also developing ATH434-201, which is in Phase II clinical trial to treat multiple system atrophy early stage; ATH434-202 that is in Phase II clinical trial to treat multiple system atrophy advance; and PBT2 that has completed Phase 2a clinical trial to treat Alzheimer’s disease. The company was formerly known as Prana Biotechnology Limited and changed its name to Alterity Therapeutics Limited in April 2019. Alterity Therapeutics Limited was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.

About Histogen

Histogen Inc., a clinical-stage therapeutics company, focuses on developing clinical and preclinical small molecule pan-caspase and caspase selective inhibitors that protect the body’s natural process to restore immune function. The company’s product candidates include emricasan for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections, as well as other infectious diseases. Its preclinical product candidates include CTS-2090 and CTS-2096, which are selective small molecule inhibitors of caspase-1 designed for the treatment of various inflammatory diseases. Histogen Inc. was founded in 2007 and is based in San Diego, California. On April 18, 2024, Histogen Inc. filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of California.