Contrasting Phio Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:PHIO) and Tharimmune (NASDAQ:THAR)

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

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Tharimmune and Phio Pharmaceuticals”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Tharimmune	N/A	N/A	-$9.32 million	N/A	N/A
Phio Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	-$10.83 million	($10.92)	-0.16

Risk and Volatility

Tharimmune has a beta of 1.24, suggesting that its stock price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Phio Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.53, suggesting that its stock price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Tharimmune	N/A	-167.63%	-130.18%
Phio Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-134.57%	-108.39%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

1.2% of Tharimmune shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.3% of Phio Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.4% of Tharimmune shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Phio Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Tharimmune and Phio Pharmaceuticals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Tharimmune	0	0	1	1	3.50
Phio Pharmaceuticals	0	0	1	0	3.00

Tharimmune presently has a consensus target price of $17.00, indicating a potential upside of 780.83%. Phio Pharmaceuticals has a consensus target price of $4.00, indicating a potential upside of 129.89%. Given Tharimmune’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Tharimmune is more favorable than Phio Pharmaceuticals.

Summary

Tharimmune beats Phio Pharmaceuticals on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Tharimmune

Tharimmune, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in the development of therapeutic candidates for rare, inflammatory, and oncologic diseases. The company's pre-clinical immuno-oncology pipeline includes TH104, a product candidate for the treatment of liver-related and other pruritogenic inflammatory conditions; TH3215 and TH0059 that are product candidates used to treat various solid tumors; and TH1940, which targets programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1). It has a research collaboration and product license agreement with Minotaur Therapeutics, Inc. for the development of proprietary targeted biologics; and Washington University in St. Louis for the rights to develop and commercialize technology related to multiple hybridomas and antibodies directed specifically towards human HER2. The company was formerly known as Hillstream BioPharma, Inc. and changed its name to Tharimmune, Inc. in September 2023. Tharimmune, Inc. was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in Bridgewater, New Jersey.

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.