KalVista Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KALV – Get Free Report) and Mersana Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MRSN – Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and earnings.
Volatility and Risk
KalVista Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mersana Therapeutics has a beta of 1.47, suggesting that its stock price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares KalVista Pharmaceuticals and Mersana Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| KalVista Pharmaceuticals | N/A | N/A | -$126.64 million | ($3.40) | -2.96 |
| Mersana Therapeutics | $29.94 million | 8.09 | -$171.67 million | ($1.14) | -1.74 |
Profitability
This table compares KalVista Pharmaceuticals and Mersana Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| KalVista Pharmaceuticals | N/A | -97.37% | -82.39% |
| Mersana Therapeutics | -349.98% | -333.91% | -48.37% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for KalVista Pharmaceuticals and Mersana Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| KalVista Pharmaceuticals | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Mersana Therapeutics | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2.88 |
KalVista Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus target price of $26.00, suggesting a potential upside of 154.15%. Mersana Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $6.00, suggesting a potential upside of 184.36%. Given Mersana Therapeutics’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Mersana Therapeutics is more favorable than KalVista Pharmaceuticals.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
93.9% of Mersana Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 12.3% of KalVista Pharmaceuticals shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 11.8% of Mersana Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Mersana Therapeutics beats KalVista Pharmaceuticals on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About KalVista Pharmaceuticals
KalVista Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of small molecule protease inhibitors for diseases with unmet needs in the United States. The company's product portfolio comprises small molecule plasma kallikrein inhibitors targeting hereditary angioedema (HAE) and diabetic macular edema (DME); and oral plasma kallikrein inhibitors. Its products include sebetralstat, which is initiation of the Phase 3 KONFIDENT trial as a potential oral, on-demand therapy for HAE attacks; and Factor XIIa, an oral inhibitor program which is in preclinical stage targets an enzyme in HAE. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
About Mersana Therapeutics
Mersana Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, develops antibody drug conjugates (ADC) for cancer patients with unmet needs. The company develops XMT-1660, a B7-H4-targeted Dolasynthen ADC candidate; and XMT-2056, an immunosynthen ADC. It has research and development collaborations with Janssen Biotech, Inc., Ares Trading S.A., Merck KGaA, and Asana BioSciences, LLC for the development of ADC product candidates. The company was formerly known as Nanopharma Corp. and changed its name to Mersana Therapeutics, Inc. in November 2005. Mersana Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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