Head-To-Head Contrast: SCYNEXIS (NASDAQ:SCYX) & Phio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:PHIO)

Phio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:PHIO) and SCYNEXIS (NASDAQ:SCYX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership and profitability.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Phio Pharmaceuticals and SCYNEXIS”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Phio Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	-$8.70 million	($1.45)	-0.76
SCYNEXIS	$20.60 million	1.69	-$8.61 million	($0.17)	-4.58

SCYNEXIS has higher revenue and earnings than Phio Pharmaceuticals. SCYNEXIS is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Phio Pharmaceuticals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

57.3% of Phio Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.4% of SCYNEXIS shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Phio Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.9% of SCYNEXIS shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Phio Pharmaceuticals and SCYNEXIS’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Phio Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-77.34%	-70.87%
SCYNEXIS	-41.79%	-25.52%	-19.33%

Volatility and Risk

Phio Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.84, indicating that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SCYNEXIS has a beta of 1.12, indicating that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Phio Pharmaceuticals and SCYNEXIS, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Phio Pharmaceuticals	1	0	1	0	2.00
SCYNEXIS	1	0	1	0	2.00

Phio Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus price target of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1,172.73%. SCYNEXIS has a consensus price target of $3.00, suggesting a potential upside of 285.11%. Given Phio Pharmaceuticals’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Phio Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than SCYNEXIS.

Summary

SCYNEXIS beats Phio Pharmaceuticals on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Phio Pharmaceuticals

Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp. engages in the development of immuno-oncology therapeutics in the United States. The company is developing PH-762, an INTASYL compound in Phase 1b dose-escalating clinical trials to reduce the expression of cell death protein 1 (PD-1), a protein that inhibits T cells’ ability to kill cancer cells; and PH-762 treated double positive tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, which is in Phase 1 clinical trials to treat advanced melanoma and other advanced solid tumors. It is also developing PH-894, an INTASYL compound in IND enabling studies to silence BRD4, a protein that controls gene expression in both T cells and tumor cells, effecting the immune system and the tumor. The company was formerly known as RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation and changed its name to Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp. in November 2018. Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp. was incorporated in 2011 and is based in Marlborough, Massachusetts.

About SCYNEXIS

SCYNEXIS, Inc., a biotechnology company, develops medicines to overcome and prevent difficult-to-treat and drug-resistant infections in the United States. It offers BREXAFEMME for the treatment of patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and recurrent VVC. The company's lead product candidate is Ibrexafungerp, an intravenous drug for the treatment of invasive candidiasis and/or candidemia, refractory invasive fungal infections, invasive aspergillosis, VVC, and recurrent VVC. It also develops SCY-247 to treat systemic fungal diseases. The company has licensing and collaboration agreements with GlaxoSmithKline Intellectual Property (No. 3) Limited, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Hansoh (Shanghai) Health Technology Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group Company Limited, and R-Pharm, CJSC for the development, manufacture, and commercialization of ibrexafungerp. SCYNEXIS, Inc. was formerly known as SCYNEXIS Chemistry & Automation, Inc. and changed its name to SCYNEXIS, Inc. in June 2002. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey.