Critical Contrast: RespireRx Pharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:RSPI) & Syros Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:SYRS)

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

Risk & Volatility

RespireRx Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.65, suggesting that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Syros Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.59, suggesting that its stock price is 59% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for RespireRx Pharmaceuticals and Syros Pharmaceuticals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
RespireRx Pharmaceuticals	0	0	0	0	0.00
Syros Pharmaceuticals	0	4	1	0	2.20

Syros Pharmaceuticals has a consensus price target of $3.33, suggesting a potential upside of 1,104.24%. Given Syros Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Syros Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than RespireRx Pharmaceuticals.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares RespireRx Pharmaceuticals and Syros Pharmaceuticals”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
RespireRx Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	-$2.10 million	($0.02)	-0.04
Syros Pharmaceuticals	$9.94 million	0.75	-$164.57 million	($3.03)	-0.09

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

91.5% of Syros Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 50.0% of RespireRx Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.3% of Syros Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company 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.

Profitability

This table compares RespireRx Pharmaceuticals and Syros Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
RespireRx Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	N/A
Syros Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-3,369.56%	-97.04%

About RespireRx 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 Syros Pharmaceuticals

Syros Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of treatment for hematologic malignancies. The company's lead product candidates are Tamibarotene, a selective retinoic acid receptor alpha agonist, which is in Phase III clinical trial for genomically defined subset of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome and Phase II clinical trial for patients with acute myeloid leukemia; SY-2101, a novel oral form of arsenic trioxide for treating patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia; and SY-5609, a cyclin-dependent kinase 7 inhibitor, which is in a Phase I clinical trial in patients with select advanced solid tumors. The company was formerly known as LS22, Inc. and changed its name to Syros Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in August 2012. Syros Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.