Fact based stock research
Cara Therapeutics (NasdaqGM:CARA)

US1407551092

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For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

Cara Therapeutics stock research in summary

caratherapeutics.com

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 18 (worse than 82% compared with investment alternatives), Cara Therapeutics (Pharmaceuticals, USA) shares have lower financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of Cara Therapeutics are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 27 (worse than 73% of alternatives) and show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 10) but are safely financed (Safety Rank of 83), which means low debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 18, is a sell recommendation based on Cara Therapeutics's financial characteristics. As the company Cara Therapeutics's critical financial metrics exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 27) and low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 10), it is a somewhat questionable stock investment, where the risk of paying too much for the shares is significant, unless the company has an exceptionally bright future. In this case, good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 83) are a positive sign, because it may allow the company to weather challenging times until the hoped-for cash flows materialize. This may be true for high-tech or biotechnology companies with enough cash to sustain prolonged business development. If they own properties that only provide cash flows in the future, the stock may look excessively expensive and unattractive today. In such cases, the Obermatt Method has limited value, as it is based on facts we can observe today. If the facts lie all in the future, stock investing becomes guesswork, and this should only be a driver in a limited number of investments that account for a small fraction of a safe portfolio. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	27
Growth Rank	10
Safety Rank	83
Combined Rank	18

Country	USA
Industry	Pharmaceuticals
Index	NASDAQ
Size class	X-Small

21-Mar-2024. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

Multiple opinions. One number.

Analysts rarely agree on a stock’s future. So, who do you believe? Obermatt translates those collective views into a single Sentiment Rank. That plus the financial ranks give you the ultimate 360° View. Sign up to access them.

Why popular stocks have low ratings

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: Cara Therapeutics

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	74	33	63	27
GROWTH
GROWTH	81	31	1	10
SAFETY
SAFETY	72	83	83	83
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	n/a	77	37	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	n/a	55	21	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 21-Mar-2024. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 30-Sep-2023. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better Cara Therapeutics is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2021	2022	2023	2024
VALUE
VALUE	74	33	63	27
GROWTH
GROWTH	81	31	1	10
SAFETY
SAFETY	72	83	83	83
COMBINED
COMBINED	81	18	18	18

Last update of combined financial performance: 6-Oct-2022. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of Cara Therapeutics the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 27 (worse than 73% compared with alternatives), Cara Therapeutics shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators below average for Cara Therapeutics. Only Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) indicates good stock value with a rank of 72, which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 72% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning Cara Therapeutics's profit levels. But Price-to-Sales is 26 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than for 74% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning Cara Therapeutics's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 27 and for dividend yield, which is lower than for 99% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive as regards to the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 27, is a hold recommendation based on Cara Therapeutics's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Can we rely on only one good value indicator? Only if we know the company well. In this case, a high Price-to-Profit Rank, while Price-to-Sales and Price-to-Book are both below the market typical levels, means that the company can charge higher prices for its products and needs less capital to produce them. If this is sustainable, then Cara Therapeutics is a good investment because profits count most in enterprise valuations. The low dividend yield indicates that the company is confident it can do something with the generated cash that is more valuable than paying the profits out to the shareholders in the form of dividends. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is essential in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	74	33	34	26
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	90	30	72	72
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	57	50	89	27
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	1	1	1	1
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	74	33	63	27

Last update of Value Rank: 21-Mar-2024. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of Cara Therapeutics; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 10 (better than 10% compared with alternatives), Cara Therapeutics shows one of the most restricted growth dynamics in its industry. There is little momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four metrics below average for Cara Therapeutics. While Profit Growth has a good rank of 77, as professionals currently expect the company to grow its profits more than 77% of its competitors, all other growth indicators are below market averages. Sales Growth has a rank of 4, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow less than 96% of its competitors, while Capital Growth has a rank of 30 and Stock Returns have been below market median, with a rank of 7 (93% of alternative investments were better). ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 10, is a sell recommendation for growth and momentum investors. While revenue growth and capital growth are good growth momentum indicators, profit is less reliable, because profits may increase due to cost-cutting measures which typically indicate negative growth momentum. "You can save a dollar only once" is the saying about such situations. Growth Investors should look at company priorities closely if they are interested in growth, because the increase in profits is not usually an indicator of growth, and stock prices have been below market, too. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case, especially since the growth performance is limited here. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	97	95	4	4
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	5	1	23	77
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	n/a	31	3	30
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	62	37	3	7
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	81	31	1	10

Last update of Growth Rank: 21-Mar-2024. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of Cara Therapeutics.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 83 (better than 83% compared with alternatives) for 2022, the company Cara Therapeutics has safe financing practices, which means that their overall debt burden is low. This doesn't mean that the business of Cara Therapeutics is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators where two out of three are above average for Cara Therapeutics.Leverage is at 100, meaning the company has a below-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has less debt than 100% of its competitors.Refinancing is at a rank of 99, meaning that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is below average. It has less debt in the refinancing stage than 99% of its competitors. Liquidity is at 29, meaning that the company generates less profit to service its debt than 71% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is on the riskier side regarding debt service. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 83 (better than 83% compared with alternatives), Cara Therapeutics has a financing structure that is significantly safer than that of its competitors. Low leverage and low refinancing risk mean a safer financing situation. However, low liquidity means that current company cash flows are low in relation to the level of debt. This is a sign of caution in case it is expected for profits to remain low. Investors should compare Obermatt’s Value, Growth, and Sentiment Ranks before deciding. They may also want to investigate why cash flows are expected to be low, making debt service for Cara Therapeutics more challenging. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2021	2022	2023	2024
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	70	100	100	100
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	70	47	99	99
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	40	29	29	29
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	72	83	83	83

Last update of Safety Rank: 6-Oct-2022. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of Cara Therapeutics and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2021	2022	2023	2024
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	3	64	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	n/a	72	50	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	n/a	99	12	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	n/a	48	57	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	n/a	77	37	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 21-Mar-2024. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for Cara Therapeutics.
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