Head-To-Head Comparison: Bio-Path (NASDAQ:BPTH) and Spruce Biosciences (NASDAQ:SPRB)

Spruce Biosciences (NASDAQ:SPRB) and Bio-Path (NASDAQ:BPTH) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and risk.

Volatility and Risk

Spruce Biosciences has a beta of 3.28, suggesting that its share price is 228% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bio-Path has a beta of -0.08, suggesting that its share price is 108% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Spruce Biosciences and Bio-Path, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Spruce Biosciences	1	7	2	0	2.10
Bio-Path	0	0	0	0	0.00

Spruce Biosciences currently has a consensus price target of $178.88, indicating a potential upside of 76.67%. Given Spruce Biosciences’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Spruce Biosciences is more favorable than Bio-Path.

Profitability

This table compares Spruce Biosciences and Bio-Path’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Spruce Biosciences	N/A	-305.39%	-168.01%
Bio-Path	N/A	-2,842.40%	-337.48%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Spruce Biosciences and Bio-Path”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Spruce Biosciences	$4.91 million	10.31	-$53.04 million	($85.00)	-1.19
Bio-Path	N/A	N/A	-$16.08 million	($1.82)	-0.04

Bio-Path has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Spruce Biosciences. Spruce Biosciences is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bio-Path, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.7% of Spruce Biosciences shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.7% of Bio-Path shares are held by institutional investors. 6.9% of Spruce Biosciences shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Bio-Path shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Spruce Biosciences beats Bio-Path on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Spruce Biosciences

Spruce Biosciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing novel therapies for rare endocrine disorders. The company engages in developing tildacerfont, a non-steroidal therapy to enhance disease control and reduce steroid burden for patients suffering from congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), which is in Phase 2b clinical trial; and to evaluate glucocorticoid reduction in adult patients with classic CAH that is Phase 2b clinical trial. It is also developing tildacerfont for the treatment of pediatric classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia in children that is in Phase 2 clinical trial; and for females with polycystic ovary syndrome, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial. Spruce Biosciences, Inc. has a license agreement with Eli Lilly and Company to research, develop, and commercialize compounds for various pharmaceutical uses; and collaboration and license agreement with Kaken Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. to develop, manufacture, and commercialize tildacerfont for the treatment of CAH in Japan. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.

About Bio-Path

Bio-Path Holdings, Inc. operates as a clinical and preclinical stage oncology focused RNAi nanoparticle drug development company in the United States. The company develops products based on DNAbilize, a drug delivery and antisense technology platform that uses P-ethoxy, which is a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) backbone modification intended to protect the DNA from destruction. Its lead drug candidate is prexigebersen, which is in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome. It is also developing BP1001-A that is in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of solid tumors; Liposomal Bcl-2 (BP1002), which is in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of refractory/relapsed lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia; and Liposomal STAT3 (BP1003) for treating pancreatic cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and AML. The company was founded in 2007 and is based in Bellaire, Texas.