Reviewing Caribou Biosciences (NASDAQ:CRBU) and Sorrento Therapeutics (OTCMKTS:SRNEQ)

Sorrento Therapeutics (OTCMKTS:SRNEQ) and Caribou Biosciences (NASDAQ:CRBU) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Sorrento Therapeutics and Caribou Biosciences’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sorrento Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	N/A
Caribou Biosciences	-372.78%	-34.76%	-29.58%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Sorrento Therapeutics and Caribou Biosciences, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sorrento Therapeutics	0	0	0	0	N/A
Caribou Biosciences	0	1	3	0	2.75

Caribou Biosciences has a consensus price target of $11.25, indicating a potential upside of 525.00%. Given Caribou Biosciences’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Caribou Biosciences is more favorable than Sorrento Therapeutics.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Sorrento Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.5% of Caribou Biosciences shares are held by institutional investors. 2.6% of Sorrento Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.5% of Caribou Biosciences shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Sorrento Therapeutics has a beta of 2.25, meaning that its share price is 125% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Caribou Biosciences has a beta of 2.27, meaning that its share price is 127% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Sorrento Therapeutics and Caribou Biosciences”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sorrento Therapeutics	$62.84 million	0.04	-$572.84 million	N/A	N/A
Caribou Biosciences	$33.11 million	4.91	-$102.07 million	($1.45)	-1.24

Caribou Biosciences has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Sorrento Therapeutics.

Summary

Caribou Biosciences beats Sorrento Therapeutics on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sorrento Therapeutics

Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical and commercial stage biopharmaceutical company, develops a portfolio of next-generation treatments for three therapeutic areas: cancer, infectious disease,and pain. It operates through two segments, Sorrento Therapeutics and Scilex. The company provides cancer therapeutic by leveraging its proprietary G-MAB antibody library and targeted delivery modalities, which include chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T), dimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, and antibody drug conjugate, as well as bispecific antibody approach; and Sofusa, a drug delivery technology that deliver biologic directly into the lymphatic system. Its clinical programs in development include anti-CD38 CAR-T therapy for the treatment of multiple myeloma, as well as for amyloidosis and graft versus host disease. The company develops resiniferatoxin, a non-opioid-based TRPV1 agonist neurotoxin for late stage cancer and osteoarthritis pain treatment; and ZTlido, a lidocaine topical system for the treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia. It engages in the development of SEMDEXA, an injectable viscous gel formulation, which is Phase III trial for the treatment of sciatica, a pathology of low back pain; SP-103, an investigational non-aqueous lidocaine topical system undergoing clinical development in chronic low back pain condition; and SP-104, a novel low-dose delayed-release naltrexone hydrochloride formulation for the treatment of fibromyalgia. It has collaboration with SmartPharm Therapeutics Inc. to develop gene-encoded antibody vaccine to protect against COVID-19; and Mayo Clinic for Phase Ib pilot study using sofusa lymphatic drug delivery technology to deliver Ipilimumab in patient with melanoma. The company was founded in 2006 and is based in San Diego, California. On February 13, 2023, Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc., along with its affiliate, filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The plan was later approved as Chapter 11 liquidation on November 30, 2023.

About Caribou Biosciences

Caribou Biosciences, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of genome-edited allogeneic cell therapies for the treatment of hematologic malignancies in the United States and internationally. Its lead product candidate is CB-010, an allogeneic anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapy that is in phase 1 clinical trial to treat relapsed or refractory B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The company also develops CB-011, an allogeneic anti-BCMA CAR-T cell therapy that is in phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma; and CB-012, an allogeneic anti-CD371 CAR-T cell therapy that is in phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia. Caribou Biosciences, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Berkeley, California.