NexImmune (NASDAQ:NEXI) and Regulus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RGLS) Head to Head Review

NexImmune (NASDAQ:NEXI) and Regulus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RGLS) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

9.9% of NexImmune shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.4% of Regulus Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.9% of NexImmune shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.4% of Regulus Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares NexImmune and Regulus Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NexImmune	N/A	N/A	-$32.34 million	($24.10)	-0.01
Regulus Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$30.04 million	($1.46)	-1.11

Regulus Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than NexImmune, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares NexImmune and Regulus Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NexImmune	N/A	-534.32%	-213.72%
Regulus Therapeutics	N/A	-55.47%	-49.37%

Volatility and Risk

NexImmune has a beta of 1.82, suggesting that its stock price is 82% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Regulus Therapeutics has a beta of 1.63, suggesting that its stock price is 63% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for NexImmune and Regulus Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NexImmune	0	0	0	0	N/A
Regulus Therapeutics	0	1	5	0	2.83

Regulus Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $10.80, suggesting a potential upside of 566.67%. Given Regulus Therapeutics’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Regulus Therapeutics is more favorable than NexImmune.

Summary

Regulus Therapeutics beats NexImmune on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NexImmune

NexImmune, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in developing therapies with curative potential for patients with cancer and other life-threatening immune-mediated diseases in the United States. It develops approaches to T cell immunotherapies based on its proprietary Artificial Immune Modulation, a nanoparticle technology platform. The company's product candidates include NEXI-001, an allogeneic cell therapy, which is in Phase I/II clinical trials for the treatment of patients with acute myeloid leukemia; NEXI-002, an autologous cell therapy that is in Phase I/II clinical trials for the treatment of patients with relapsed and/or refractory in multiple myeloma; and NEXI-003, a product candidate targeted against HPV related cancers, which is in Phase I/II clinical trials. It provides NEXI-004 which is in preclinical stage for EBV related diseases; and NEXI005 designs for patient with specific targets for solid tumors. NexImmune, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

About Regulus Therapeutics

Regulus Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovery and development of drugs that targets microRNAs to treat a range of diseases in the United States. Its product candidates include RGLS8429, an anti-miR next generation oligonucleotide targeting miR-17, which is in Phase 1b clinical trial for the treatment of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. The company is also developing a pipeline of preclinical drug products for target organ-selective delivery strategies. Regulus Therapeutics Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.