Head to Head Review: Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) vs. Applied Therapeutics (NASDAQ:APLT)

Applied Therapeutics (NASDAQ:APLT) and Akebia Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AKBA) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Applied Therapeutics and Akebia Therapeutics”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Applied Therapeutics	$1.00 million	15.86	-$105.62 million	($0.10)	-1.03
Akebia Therapeutics	$236.20 million	0.47	-$5.34 million	($0.16)	-2.51

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

98.3% of Applied Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 33.9% of Akebia Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Applied Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Akebia Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Applied Therapeutics and Akebia Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Applied Therapeutics	N/A	-340.84%	-175.00%
Akebia Therapeutics	-22.60%	-145.58%	-11.37%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Applied Therapeutics and Akebia Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Applied Therapeutics	1	2	0	0	1.67
Akebia Therapeutics	1	2	4	0	2.43

Applied Therapeutics presently has a consensus target price of $1.00, suggesting a potential upside of 870.87%. Akebia Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $3.90, suggesting a potential upside of 871.84%. Given Akebia Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Akebia Therapeutics is more favorable than Applied Therapeutics.

Risk and Volatility

Applied Therapeutics has a beta of 2.08, indicating that its share price is 108% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Akebia Therapeutics has a beta of 0.24, indicating that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Akebia Therapeutics beats Applied Therapeutics on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Applied Therapeutics

Applied Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of a pipeline of novel product candidates against validated molecular targets in indications of high unmet medical need in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is AT-007 (also called govorestat) that has completed phase 3 for the treatment of galactosemia in healthy volunteers and adults, in pediatric clinical study for the treatment of galactosemia in kids, for treating enzyme sorbitol dehydrogenase, and for the treatment of phosphomannomutase enzyme-CDG. It also develops AT-001 (also called caficrestat) that is in phase 3 clinical trials to treat diabetic cardiomyopathy, as well as for the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy; and AT-003, which is in preclinical studies for the treatment diabetic retinopathy. The company has exclusive license and supply agreement with Mercury Pharma Group Limited to commercialize drug products containing AT-007. Applied Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Akebia Therapeutics

Akebia Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for patients with kidney diseases. The company’s lead product investigational product candidate is Vafseo (vadadustat), an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase, which is in Phase III development for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease (CKD) in dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis dependent patients. It offers Auryxia, a ferric citrate that is used to control the serum phosphorus levels in adult patients with DD-CKD on dialysis; and the treatment of iron deficiency anemia in adult patients with CKD not on dialysis. The company’s product pipeline includes AKB-9090, a drug targeting critical-care indications; and AKB-10108, a drug targeting conditions related to premature birth. It has collaboration agreements with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation for the development and commercialization of vadadustat in Japan and other Asian countries, as well as research and license agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV for the development and commercialization of hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase targeted compounds worldwide. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.