AbCellera Biologics (NASDAQ:ABCL) and Neurogene (NASDAQ:NGNE) Critical Analysis

AbCellera Biologics (NASDAQ:ABCL) and Neurogene (NASDAQ:NGNE) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, valuation and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for AbCellera Biologics and Neurogene, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AbCellera Biologics	0	1	2	0	2.67
Neurogene	0	0	8	1	3.11

AbCellera Biologics presently has a consensus price target of $8.67, indicating a potential upside of 188.89%. Neurogene has a consensus price target of $60.83, indicating a potential upside of 156.46%. Given AbCellera Biologics’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe AbCellera Biologics is more favorable than Neurogene.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

61.4% of AbCellera Biologics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.4% of Neurogene shares are owned by institutional investors. 28.0% of AbCellera Biologics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.9% of Neurogene shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares AbCellera Biologics and Neurogene’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AbCellera Biologics	-533.32%	-15.73%	-12.22%
Neurogene	N/A	-32.81%	-27.96%

Risk & Volatility

AbCellera Biologics has a beta of 0.41, indicating that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Neurogene has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares AbCellera Biologics and Neurogene”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AbCellera Biologics	$38.03 million	23.30	-$146.40 million	($0.61)	-4.92
Neurogene	N/A	N/A	-$36.32 million	N/A	N/A

Neurogene has lower revenue, but higher earnings than AbCellera Biologics.

About AbCellera Biologics

AbCellera Biologics Inc. builds an engine for antibody drug discovery and development. Its engine discovers antibodies from natural immune responses, which are pre-enriched for antibodies. The company’s preclinical products are ABCL635 for metabolic and endocrine conditions; and ABCL575 for atopic dermatitis. It has a research collaboration and license agreement with Eli Lilly and Company; a research collaboration with Confo Therapeutics for the discovery of therapeutic antibody candidates targeting two undisclosed GPCR targets; and strategic collaboration with Biogen Inc. to discover therapeutic antibodies for neurological conditions, as well as collaboration with Viking Global Investors and ArrowMark Partners. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Neurogene

Neurogene Inc., a biotechnology company, develops genetic medicines for rare neurological diseases. The company's product candidates include NGN-401 which is packaged in an adeno-associated virus 9 that is in Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of Rett syndrome; and NGN-101, a conventional gene therapy candidate that is in Phase 1/2 clinical trial to treat CLN5 Batten disease. It has a license agreement with The University of North Carolina, the University of Edinburgh, Virovek, Inc., and Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC. The company is headquartered in New York, New York.