Critical Comparison: Cortex Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:RSPI) and Artiva Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARTV)

Cortex Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:RSPI) and Artiva Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARTV) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Cortex Pharmaceuticals and Artiva Biotherapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cortex Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	N/A
Artiva Biotherapeutics	N/A	-49.99%	-44.05%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Cortex Pharmaceuticals and Artiva Biotherapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cortex Pharmaceuticals	0	0	0	0	0.00
Artiva Biotherapeutics	1	0	4	1	2.83

Artiva Biotherapeutics has a consensus price target of $19.00, indicating a potential upside of 388.43%. Given Artiva Biotherapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Artiva Biotherapeutics is more favorable than Cortex Pharmaceuticals.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Cortex Pharmaceuticals and Artiva Biotherapeutics”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cortex Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.02)	-0.09
Artiva Biotherapeutics	$250,000.00	382.00	-$65.37 million	($2.58)	-1.51

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

Volatility & Risk

Cortex Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Artiva Biotherapeutics has a beta of 2.92, suggesting that its share price is 192% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Artiva Biotherapeutics beats Cortex Pharmaceuticals on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cortex Pharmaceuticals

RespireRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of pharmaceuticals for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders. It has two drug platforms comprising ResolutionRx, a pharmaceutical cannabinoids platform, which includes dronabinol that acts upon the CB1 and CB2 endocannabinoid receptors for use in chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, as well as for anorexia in patients with AIDS and obstructive sleep apnea; and EndeavourRx, a neuromodulators platform that comprises AMPAkines program, including proprietary compounds that are positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of glutamate receptors to promote neuronal function, and GABAkines program, including proprietary compounds that are PAMs of GABAA receptors. The company’s lead ampakine, CX1739, which has completed Phase II clinical studies for opioid-induced respiratory depression, as well as for central sleep apnea. It is also developing CX717, CX1739, and CX1942 that have clinical application in the treatment of CNS-driven neurobehavioral and cognitive disorders, spinal cord injury, neurological diseases, and various orphan indications. It has a research collaboration with University College London to the use of AMPAkines for the treatment of GRIA disorders. The company was formerly known as Cortex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed its name to RespireRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. in December 2015. RespireRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Glen Rock, New Jersey.

About Artiva Biotherapeutics

Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on developing natural killer (NK) cell-based therapies for patients suffering from autoimmune diseases and cancers. The company’s lead product candidate is AB-101, an off-the-shelf NK cell therapy for patients with autoimmune diseases and cancers, such as lupus nephritis, rheumatoid arthritis, pemphigus vulgaris, the anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis subtypes granulomatosis with polyangiitis/microscopic polyangiitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and B-cell-non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It also develops AB-201, an allogeneic anti- human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-NK cell product candidate; and AB-205, an allogeneic anti-CD5 CAR-NK cell product candidate. The company was incorporated in 2019 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.