Critical Survey: Petros Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:PTPI) versus First Wave BioPharma (NASDAQ:FWBI)

Petros Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:PTPI) and First Wave BioPharma (NASDAQ:FWBI) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Petros Pharmaceuticals and First Wave BioPharma, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Petros Pharmaceuticals	0	0	1	0	3.00
First Wave BioPharma	0	1	1	0	2.50

Petros Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus price target of $4.00, indicating a potential upside of 515.20%. First Wave BioPharma has a consensus price target of $118.00, indicating a potential upside of 3,807.28%. Given First Wave BioPharma’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe First Wave BioPharma is more favorable than Petros Pharmaceuticals.

Profitability

This table compares Petros Pharmaceuticals and First Wave BioPharma’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Petros Pharmaceuticals	-181.87%	-68.90%	-24.74%
First Wave BioPharma	N/A	-603.03%	-278.67%

Volatility & Risk

Petros Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.92, indicating that its stock price is 92% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Wave BioPharma has a beta of 1.24, indicating that its stock price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Petros Pharmaceuticals and First Wave BioPharma’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Petros Pharmaceuticals	$5.82 million	0.77	-$8.16 million	($6.34)	-0.10
First Wave BioPharma	N/A	N/A	-$15.80 million	($272.80)	-0.01

Petros Pharmaceuticals has higher revenue and earnings than First Wave BioPharma. Petros Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Wave BioPharma, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

12.3% of Petros Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.3% of First Wave BioPharma shares are owned by institutional investors. 36.4% of Petros Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of First Wave BioPharma shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Petros Pharmaceuticals beats First Wave BioPharma on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Petros Pharmaceuticals

Petros Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, focuses on men's health therapeutics in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Prescription Medications and Medical Devices. The company engages in the commercialization and development of Stendra, an PDE-5 inhibitor prescription medication for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). It also develops and commercializes H100, a novel and patented topical formulation candidate for the treatment of acute Peyronie's disease. The company offers men's health products, including vacuum erection devices, PreBoost, VenoSeal, penile injections, and urinary tract infection tests for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Petros Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is based in New York, New York.

About First Wave BioPharma

First Wave BioPharma, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research and development of targeted and non-systemic therapies for the treatment of patients with gastrointestinal diseases. Its product candidates include the biologic adrulipase, a recombinant lipase enzyme designed to enable the digestion of fats and other nutrients; and niclosamide, an oral small molecule with anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties. The company develops FW-COV, which is in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 gastrointestinal infections; FW-UP, which is in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment ulcerative proctitis and ulcerative proctosigmoiditis; FW-ICI-AC for immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated colitis and diarrhea in advanced stage oncology patients; and FW-UC, which is in Phase Ib/IIa clinical trials for the treatment of ulcerative proctitis and ulcerative proctosigmoiditis. It also develops FW-CD, which has completed Phase I clinical trials for Crohn's disease; and adrulipase, an oral, non-systemic, and biologic capsule for the treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in patients with cystic fibrosis and chronic pancreatitis. The company was formerly known as AzurRx BioPharma, Inc. and changed its name to First Wave BioPharma, Inc. in September 2021. First Wave BioPharma, Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.