Critical Contrast: Vanda Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VNDA) versus Cyclerion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CYCN)

Vanda Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VNDA) and Cyclerion Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CYCN) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Vanda Pharmaceuticals and Cyclerion Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vanda Pharmaceuticals	0	0	2	0	3.00
Cyclerion Therapeutics	0	0	0	0	0.00

Vanda Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus target price of $15.50, suggesting a potential upside of 230.49%. Given Vanda Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Vanda Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Cyclerion Therapeutics.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Vanda Pharmaceuticals and Cyclerion Therapeutics”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vanda Pharmaceuticals	$192.64 million	1.42	$2.51 million	($0.28)	-16.75
Cyclerion Therapeutics	$1.62 million	7.11	-$5.26 million	N/A	N/A

Vanda Pharmaceuticals has higher revenue and earnings than Cyclerion Therapeutics.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

88.1% of Vanda Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.6% of Cyclerion Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 8.9% of Vanda Pharmaceuticals shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 36.1% of Cyclerion Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Vanda Pharmaceuticals and Cyclerion Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vanda Pharmaceuticals	-8.59%	-3.02%	-2.52%
Cyclerion Therapeutics	N/A	-55.32%	-48.35%

Volatility & Risk

Vanda Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.74, suggesting that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cyclerion Therapeutics has a beta of 1.74, suggesting that its stock price is 74% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Vanda Pharmaceuticals beats Cyclerion Therapeutics on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vanda Pharmaceuticals

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapies to address high unmet medical needs worldwide. The company’s marketed products include HETLIOZ to treat non-24-hour sleep-wake disorders; and Fanapt oral tablets for the treatment of schizophrenia. Its pipeline products include HETLIOZ (tasimelteon) to treat jet lag disorder, insomnia, delayed sleep phase disorder, sleep disturbances in autism spectrum disorder, and pediatric Non-24; Fanapt (iloperidone) for the treatment of bipolar I disorder and Parkinson’s disease psychosis, as well as a long acting injectable (LAI) formulation to treat schizophrenia; and Tradipitant (VLY-686), a small molecule neurokinin-1 receptor (NK-1R) antagonist to treat gastroparesis, motion sickness, atopic dermatitis, and COVID-19 pneumonia. The company’s pipeline products also include VTR-297, a small molecule histone deacetylase inhibitor to treat hematologic malignancies and with potential use as a treatment for various oncology indications; VQW-765, a small molecule nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist to treat performance anxiety and psychiatric disorders; VHX-896, an active metabolite of iloperidone; and antisense oligonucleotide molecules. In addition, it offers a portfolio of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator activators and inhibitors that include VSJ-110 for the treatment of dry eye and ocular inflammation; and VPO-227 for the treatment of secretory diarrhea disorders comprising cholera. Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Washington, the District of Columbia.

About Cyclerion Therapeutics

Cyclerion Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, develops treatments for serious diseases. It is developing Olinciguat, an orally administered vascular soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulator, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial to out-license for cardiovascular diseases; and Praliciguat, a systemic sGC stimulator that is licensed to Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. for the treatment of rare kidney disease. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.