Financial Comparison: Pluri (NASDAQ:PLUR) vs. Passage Bio (NASDAQ:PASG)

Pluri (NASDAQ:PLUR) and Passage Bio (NASDAQ:PASG) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Pluri and Passage Bio’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pluri	$290,000.00	101.29	-$28.32 million	($4.64)	-1.17
Passage Bio	N/A	N/A	-$102.06 million	($1.53)	-0.66

Pluri has higher revenue and earnings than Passage Bio. Pluri is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Passage Bio, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

16.6% of Pluri shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 53.5% of Passage Bio shares are held by institutional investors. 10.2% of Pluri shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Passage Bio shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Pluri has a beta of 1.62, meaning that its stock price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Passage Bio has a beta of 1.25, meaning that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Pluri and Passage Bio’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pluri	-6,339.59%	-249.60%	-50.12%
Passage Bio	N/A	-68.53%	-51.64%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Pluri and Passage Bio, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pluri	0	0	0	0	N/A
Passage Bio	0	0	3	0	3.00

Passage Bio has a consensus target price of $9.00, indicating a potential upside of 791.09%. Given Passage Bio’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Passage Bio is more favorable than Pluri.

Summary

Passage Bio beats Pluri on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pluri

Pluri Inc., a biotechnology company, engages in the development of placenta-based cell therapy product candidates for the treatment of inflammatory, muscle injuries, and hematologic conditions. It operates in the field of regenerative medicine, food-tech, and biologics and focuses on establishing partnerships that leverage its 3D cell-based technology to additional industries that require mass cell production. The company's development pipeline includes PLX-PAD, is composed of maternal mesenchymal stromal cells originating from the placenta that is currently under phase III study for orthopedic, phase II study for COVID-19, and phase I/II clinical study for Steroid-Refractory cGVHD indications; and PLX-R18, is composed of fetal MSC like cells originating from the placenta that is currently under phase I study for HCT and pilot study for ARS indications. It is also involved in the development of modified PLX cells. The company was formerly known as Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. and changed its name to Pluri Inc. in July 2022. Pluri Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is based in Haifa, Israel.

About Passage Bio

Passage Bio, Inc., a genetic medicines company, develops gene therapies for central nervous system diseases. It develops PBGM01, a functional GLB1 gene encoding ß-galactosidase for infantile GM1; PBFT02, a functional granulin (GRN) and gene encoding progranulin (PGRN) for the treatment of FTD caused by progranulin deficiency; and PBKR03, a functional GALC gene encoding the hydrolytic enzyme galactosylceramidase for infantile Krabbe disease. The company develops PBML04 for the treatment of metachromatic leukodystrophy; PBAL05 for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; and other program for huntington's disease. It has a strategic research collaboration with the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania's Gene Therapy Program; and collaboration agreement, and a development services and clinical supply agreement with Catalent Maryland, Inc. Passage Bio, Inc. was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.