Critical Review: Vistagen Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VTGN) vs. Daré Bioscience (NASDAQ:DARE)

Vistagen Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VTGN) and Daré Bioscience (NASDAQ:DARE) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership and dividends.

Volatility and Risk

Vistagen Therapeutics has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Daré Bioscience has a beta of 1.34, suggesting that its stock price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Vistagen Therapeutics and Daré Bioscience”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vistagen Therapeutics	$1.06 million	67.76	-$29.36 million	($1.24)	-2.08
Daré Bioscience	$2.81 million	10.34	-$30.16 million	($0.59)	-5.65

Vistagen Therapeutics has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Daré Bioscience. Daré Bioscience is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vistagen Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

78.4% of Vistagen Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 6.7% of Daré Bioscience shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Vistagen Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of Daré Bioscience shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Vistagen Therapeutics and Daré Bioscience, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vistagen Therapeutics	0	0	1	1	3.50
Daré Bioscience	0	2	2	0	2.50

Vistagen Therapeutics currently has a consensus price target of $15.00, indicating a potential upside of 481.40%. Daré Bioscience has a consensus price target of $24.00, indicating a potential upside of 618.56%. Given Daré Bioscience’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Daré Bioscience is more favorable than Vistagen Therapeutics.

Profitability

This table compares Vistagen Therapeutics and Daré Bioscience’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vistagen Therapeutics	-4,521.71%	-36.35%	-33.62%
Daré Bioscience	-191.65%	N/A	-18.98%

Summary

Daré Bioscience beats Vistagen Therapeutics on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vistagen Therapeutics

Vistagen Therapeutics, Inc., a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, primarily focus to transform the treatment landscape for individuals living with anxiety, depression, and other central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The company's pipeline includes six clinical stage product candidates, including five investigational agents belonging to drugs known as pherines. Its product pipeline comprises PH94B, a fasedienol nasal spray, which is in Phase III development for the treatment of social anxiety disorder; and PH10, a Ituvone nasal spray which is in Phase II development for the treatment of major depressive disorder. In addition, the company is also developing PH15, an early-stage investigational synthetic neuroactive steroid for the treatment of cognition improvement; PH80, an odorless and tasteless synthetic investigational pherine for the treatment of menopausal hot flashes and migraine; PH284, an early-stage investigational synthetic neuroactive steroid for the treatment of wasting syndrome Cachexia; and AV-101, an oral nmdr glycine site antagonist for depression and neurological disorders. Further, it has a license and collaboration agreement with EverInsight Therapeutics Inc. to develop and commercialize to address ophthalmologic and CNS disorders. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.

About Daré Bioscience

Daré Bioscience, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, identifies, develops, and markets products for women's health in the United States. It develops therapies in the areas of contraception, reproductive health, menopause, fertility, and sexual and vaginal health. The company offers XACIATO for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis in female patients 12 years of age and older. It is developing Ovaprene, a hormone-free, monthly intravaginal contraceptive; Sildenafil Cream, a cream formulation of sildenafil for topical administration to the female genitalia on demand for the treatment of female sexual arousal disorder; DARE-HRT1 to treat moderate to-severe vasomotor symptoms in menopausal hormone therapy; DARE-VVA1 for the treatment of moderate-to-severe dyspareunia or pain during sexual intercourse; and DARE-CIN to treat cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and other human papillomavirus related pathologies. The company is also developing DARE-PDM1 for the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea; DARE-204 and DARE-214, an injectable formulations contraception of etonogestrel designed to provide contraception over 6-month and 12-month periods; DARE-FRT1, an intravaginal ring designed to deliver bio-identical progesterone for luteal phase support as part of an in vitro fertilization treatment plan; and DARE-PTB1 for the prevention of preterm birth. In addition, it is developing DARE-LARC1, a contraceptive implant delivering levonorgestrel with a woman-centered design that controlled contraceptive option; DARE-LBT, a novel hydrogel formulation for vaginal delivery of live biotherapeutics to support vaginal health; DARE-GML, a multi-target antimicrobial agent; DARE-RH1, a novel approach to non-hormonal contraception for men and women by targeting the CatSper ion channel; and DARE-PTB2 for the prevention and treatment of idiopathic preterm birth through inhibition of a stress response protein. Daré Bioscience, Inc. is headquartered in San Diego, California.