Zevra Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ZVRA) & Journey Medical (NASDAQ:DERM) Financial Analysis

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Journey Medical and Zevra Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Journey Medical	1	1	3	0	2.40
Zevra Therapeutics	1	1	6	0	2.63

Journey Medical presently has a consensus price target of $12.17, suggesting a potential upside of 53.62%. Zevra Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $22.80, suggesting a potential upside of 157.05%. Given Zevra Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Zevra Therapeutics is more favorable than Journey Medical.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

7.3% of Journey Medical shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.0% of Zevra Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.0% of Journey Medical shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of Zevra Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Journey Medical and Zevra Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Journey Medical	-14.58%	-39.94%	-10.45%
Zevra Therapeutics	41.93%	-51.40%	-19.40%

Risk and Volatility

Journey Medical has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zevra Therapeutics has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Journey Medical and Zevra Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Journey Medical	$59.40 million	3.62	-$14.67 million	($0.35)	-22.63
Zevra Therapeutics	$23.61 million	21.15	-$105.51 million	$0.47	18.87

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

Summary

Zevra Therapeutics beats Journey Medical on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Journey Medical

Journey Medical Corporation focuses on the development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products for the treatment of dermatological conditions in the United States. The company's marketed products include Qbrexza, a medicated cloth towelette for the treatment of primary axillary hyperhidrosis; Accutane, an oral isotretinoin drug to treat severe recalcitrant nodular acne; and Amzeeq, a topical formulation of minocycline for the treatment of inflammatory lesions of non-nodular moderate to severe acne vulgaris. It also offers Zilxi, a topical minocycline treatment for inflammatory lesions of rosacea; Exelderm cream and solution an antifungal intended for topical use; Targadox, an oral doxycycline drug for adjunctive therapy for severe acne; and Luxamend, a water-based emulsion formulated to provide a moist healing environment for superficial wounds; minor cuts or scrapes; dermal ulcers; donor sites; first- and second-degree burns, including sunburns; and radiation dermatitis. In addition, the company sells sulconazole nitrate cream and solution indicated for the treatment of tinea cruris, tinea corporis, and tinea versicolor; and doxycycline hyclate tablets, as an adjunctive therapy for severe acne. The company was formerly known as Coronado Dermatology, Inc. and changed its name to Journey Medical Corporation. Journey Medical Corporation was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Journey Medical Corporation is a subsidiary of Fortress Biotech, Inc.

About Zevra Therapeutics

Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. discovers and develops various proprietary prodrugs to treat serious medical conditions in the United States. The company develops its products through Ligand Activated Therapy platform. Its lead product candidate is KP1077, consisting of KP1077IH, which is under Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of idiopathic hypersomnia, and KP1077N, which is under Phase ½ clinical trial to treat narcolepsy. The company is also developing Celiprolol, a prodrug product candidate that is under Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of vascular Ehlers Danlos syndrome. In addition, it offers AZSTARYS, a once-daily treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in patients aged six years and older; OLPRUVA to treat urea cycle disorders; and Arimoclomol for the treatment of niemann pick disease type C, an ultra-rare neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorder. The company has collaboration and license agreement with Commave Therapeutics SA to develop, manufacture and commercialize the company’s product candidates containing SDX and d-methylphenidate; and license agreement with Acer and Relief Therapeutics, Inc. to develop and commercialize rights for OLPRUVA. The company was formerly known as KemPharm, Inc. and changed its name to Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. in February 2023. Zevra Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Celebration, Florida.