Head-To-Head Contrast: Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) and Monopar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MNPR)

Monopar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MNPR) and Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

Monopar Therapeutics has a beta of 1.58, indicating that its stock price is 58% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atara Biotherapeutics has a beta of -0.44, indicating that its stock price is 144% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Monopar Therapeutics and Atara Biotherapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Monopar Therapeutics	N/A	-25.72%	-24.81%
Atara Biotherapeutics	15.40%	-41.78%	39.30%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

1.8% of Monopar Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.9% of Atara Biotherapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.5% of Monopar Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of Atara Biotherapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Monopar Therapeutics and Atara Biotherapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Monopar Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$15.59 million	($3.44)	-16.75
Atara Biotherapeutics	$151.93 million	0.25	-$85.40 million	$2.18	2.37

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Monopar Therapeutics and Atara Biotherapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Monopar Therapeutics	1	0	10	2	3.00
Atara Biotherapeutics	1	1	0	0	1.50

Monopar Therapeutics presently has a consensus target price of $107.00, indicating a potential upside of 85.73%. Atara Biotherapeutics has a consensus target price of $6.00, indicating a potential upside of 16.05%. Given Monopar Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Monopar Therapeutics is more favorable than Atara Biotherapeutics.

Summary

Monopar Therapeutics beats Atara Biotherapeutics on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Monopar Therapeutics

Monopar Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in developing therapeutics for the treatment of cancer in the United States. Its lead product candidate in development is Validive, a clonidine hydrochloride mucobuccal tablet that is in Phase 2b/3 clinical trial for the prevention of chemoradiotherapy induced severe oral mucositis in patients with oropharyngeal cancer. The company also engages in developing Camsirubicin, an analog of doxorubicin, which is in Phase 1b clinical trial for the treatment of advanced soft tissue sarcoma; MNPR-101, a urokinase plasminogen activator receptor targeted antibody for the treatment of various cancers; MNPR-101 RIT, a radioimmunotherapeutic based on MNPR-101 for the potential treatment of cancer and severe COVID-19; and MNPR-202, an analog of camsirubicin to treat doxorubicin-and camsirubicin-resistant cancers. Monopar Therapeutics Inc. has collaborations with the Grupo Español de Investigación en Sarcomas for the development of camsirubicin in patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma; NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes, LLC to develop radio-immuno-therapeutics targeting severe COVID-19; and the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore to evaluate the activity of MNPR-202 and related analogs in various types of cancer. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Wilmette, Illinois.

About Atara Biotherapeutics

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. engages in the development of transformative therapies for patients with solid tumors, hematologic cancers, and autoimmune diseases in the United States and the United Kingdom. Its lead product includes Tab-cel (tabelecleucel), a T-cell immunotherapy program that is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of epstein-barr virus (EBV) driven post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease, as well as nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Its CAR T immunotherapy pipeline products include ATA3219, currently in Phase 1 trials, as well as ATA3431, under preclinical trials for the treatment of B-cell malignancies and autoimmune diseases; and ATA188 that is in Phase 2 clinical trials to treat multiple sclerosis. The company has research collaboration agreements with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Council of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research. Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California.