Head to Head Comparison: Fresh Tracks Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FRTX) versus Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA)

Fresh Tracks Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FRTX) and Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

Fresh Tracks Therapeutics has a beta of 0.5, meaning that its share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atara Biotherapeutics has a beta of 0.55, meaning that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Fresh Tracks Therapeutics and Atara Biotherapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fresh Tracks Therapeutics	$10.06 million	0.44	-$5.69 million	($1.41)	-0.52
Atara Biotherapeutics	$100.44 million	0.65	-$276.13 million	($25.78)	-0.44

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

Profitability

This table compares Fresh Tracks Therapeutics and Atara Biotherapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fresh Tracks Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	N/A
Atara Biotherapeutics	-132.58%	N/A	-90.16%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

25.0% of Fresh Tracks Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.9% of Atara Biotherapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Fresh Tracks Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Atara Biotherapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Fresh Tracks Therapeutics and Atara Biotherapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fresh Tracks Therapeutics	0	0	0	0	0.00
Atara Biotherapeutics	1	1	3	2	2.86

Atara Biotherapeutics has a consensus price target of $18.75, indicating a potential upside of 64.47%. Given Atara Biotherapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Atara Biotherapeutics is more favorable than Fresh Tracks Therapeutics.

Summary

Atara Biotherapeutics beats Fresh Tracks Therapeutics on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fresh Tracks Therapeutics

Fresh Tracks Therapeutics, Inc. does not have significant operations. Previously, the company was engaged in the development of various prescription therapeutics for the treatment of autoimmune, inflammatory, and other debilitating diseases in the United States. Fresh Tracks Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.

About Atara Biotherapeutics

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. engages in the development of transformative therapies for patients with solid tumors, hematologic cancers, and autoimmune diseases in the United States and the United Kingdom. Its lead product includes Tab-cel (tabelecleucel), a T-cell immunotherapy program that is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of epstein-barr virus (EBV) driven post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease, as well as nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Its CAR T immunotherapy pipeline products include ATA3219, currently in Phase 1 trials, as well as ATA3431, under preclinical trials for the treatment of B-cell malignancies and autoimmune diseases; and ATA188 that is in Phase 2 clinical trials to treat multiple sclerosis. The company has research collaboration agreements with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Council of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research. Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California.