Critical Contrast: Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) & NovAccess Global (OTCMKTS:XSNX)

NovAccess Global (OTCMKTS:XSNX) and Protagonist Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PTGX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares NovAccess Global and Protagonist Therapeutics’ revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NovAccess Global	N/A	N/A	-$4.72 million	($0.10)	-0.05
Protagonist Therapeutics	$60.00 million	24.83	-$78.96 million	($1.49)	-17.15

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

Risk and Volatility

NovAccess Global has a beta of 1.51, suggesting that its share price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Protagonist Therapeutics has a beta of 2.02, suggesting that its share price is 102% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

98.6% of Protagonist Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of NovAccess Global shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.0% of Protagonist Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares NovAccess Global and Protagonist Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NovAccess Global	N/A	N/A	-877.60%
Protagonist Therapeutics	N/A	-27.49%	-25.30%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for NovAccess Global and Protagonist Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NovAccess Global	0	0	0	0	N/A
Protagonist Therapeutics	0	0	4	0	3.00

Protagonist Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $36.00, indicating a potential upside of 40.85%. Given Protagonist Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Protagonist Therapeutics is more favorable than NovAccess Global.

Summary

Protagonist Therapeutics beats NovAccess Global on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NovAccess Global

NovAccess Global Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, develops novel immunotherapies to treat brain tumor patients in the United States. It specializes in cutting-edge research related to utilizing a patient's immune system to attack the cancer. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

About Protagonist Therapeutics

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, develops peptide-based drugs for hematology and blood disorders, and inflammatory and immunomodulatory diseases. It is developing Rusfertide (PTG-300), an injectable hepcidin mimetic that completed phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of polycythemia vera and other blood disorders; and JNJ-2113, an orally delivered investigational drug to block biological pathways that completed phase 2b clinical trials for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis; and PN-943, an orally delivered, gut-restricted alpha 4 beta 7 specific integrin antagonist completed a phase 2 clinical trials in patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis. The company has a license and collaboration agreement with Takeda to commercialize rusfertide; and JNJ Innovative Medicines to co-develop Interleukin-23 receptor antagonist compound JNJ-2113. Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Newark, California.