Critical Contrast: Rockwell Medical (NASDAQ:RMTI) vs. Zevra Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ZVRA)

Rockwell Medical (NASDAQ:RMTI) and Zevra Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ZVRA) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Rockwell Medical and Zevra Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rockwell Medical	-1.25%	8.55%	3.80%
Zevra Therapeutics	-342.63%	-159.54%	-51.50%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Rockwell Medical and Zevra Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rockwell Medical	$83.61 million	0.96	-$8.44 million	($0.05)	-49.80
Zevra Therapeutics	$24.49 million	19.55	-$46.05 million	($1.97)	-4.55

Rockwell Medical has higher revenue and earnings than Zevra Therapeutics. Rockwell Medical is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Zevra Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

23.3% of Rockwell Medical shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.0% of Zevra Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.9% of Rockwell Medical shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of Zevra Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Rockwell Medical has a beta of 1.5, meaning that its stock price is 50% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zevra Therapeutics has a beta of 1.93, meaning that its stock price is 93% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Rockwell Medical and Zevra Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rockwell Medical	0	0	2	1	3.33
Zevra Therapeutics	0	0	7	1	3.13

Rockwell Medical presently has a consensus price target of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 181.12%. Zevra Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $21.00, suggesting a potential upside of 134.11%. Given Rockwell Medical’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Rockwell Medical is more favorable than Zevra Therapeutics.

Summary

Rockwell Medical beats Zevra Therapeutics on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Rockwell Medical

Rockwell Medical, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a healthcare company that engages in the development, manufacture, commercialization, and distribution of various hemodialysis products for dialysis providers worldwide. The company offers Triferic Dialysate and Triferic AVNU which are indicated to maintain hemoglobin in adult undergoing hemodialysis. It also manufactures, sells, delivers, and distributes hemodialysis concentrates, such as CitraPure citric acid concentrate, Dri-Sate dry acid concentrate, RenalPure liquid acid concentrate, dry acid concentrate mixer, and RenalPure and SteriLyte powder bicarbonate concentrate; and ancillary products, including testing supplies, 5% acetic acid cleaning solution, 5% and 2% citric acid descaler, filtration salts, and other items used by hemodialysis providers. The company's hemodialysis concentrate products are used to sustain patient's life by removing toxins and balancing electrolytes in a dialysis patient's bloodstream. The company serves to hemodialysis clinics. Rockwell Medical, Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Wixom, Michigan.

About Zevra Therapeutics

Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. discovers and develops various proprietary prodrugs to treat serious medical conditions in the United States. The company develops its products through Ligand Activated Therapy platform. Its lead product candidate is KP1077, consisting of KP1077IH, which is under Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of idiopathic hypersomnia, and KP1077N, which is under Phase ½ clinical trial to treat narcolepsy. The company is also developing Celiprolol, a prodrug product candidate that is under Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of vascular Ehlers Danlos syndrome. In addition, it offers AZSTARYS, a once-daily treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in patients aged six years and older; OLPRUVA to treat urea cycle disorders; and Arimoclomol for the treatment of niemann pick disease type C, an ultra-rare neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorder. The company has collaboration and license agreement with Commave Therapeutics SA to develop, manufacture and commercialize the company’s product candidates containing SDX and d-methylphenidate; and license agreement with Acer and Relief Therapeutics, Inc. to develop and commercialize rights for OLPRUVA. The company was formerly known as KemPharm, Inc. and changed its name to Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. in February 2023. Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Celebration, Florida.