Head-To-Head Comparison: Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) vs. Moleculin Biotech (NASDAQ:MBRX)

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) and Moleculin Biotech (NASDAQ:MBRX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, valuation and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

27.0% of Equillium shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.5% of Moleculin Biotech shares are owned by institutional investors. 30.3% of Equillium shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of Moleculin Biotech shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Equillium has a beta of 1.83, meaning that its share price is 83% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Moleculin Biotech has a beta of 1.86, meaning that its share price is 86% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Equillium and Moleculin Biotech”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equillium	$42.62 million	0.72	-$13.34 million	($0.36)	-2.42
Moleculin Biotech	N/A	N/A	-$29.77 million	N/A	N/A

Equillium has higher revenue and earnings than Moleculin Biotech.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Equillium and Moleculin Biotech, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equillium	0	0	1	0	3.00
Moleculin Biotech	0	0	3	0	3.00

Equillium presently has a consensus price target of $5.00, indicating a potential upside of 474.05%. Moleculin Biotech has a consensus price target of $35.00, indicating a potential upside of 1,402.15%. Given Moleculin Biotech’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Moleculin Biotech is more favorable than Equillium.

Profitability

This table compares Equillium and Moleculin Biotech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equillium	-19.51%	-36.88%	-17.31%
Moleculin Biotech	N/A	-105.50%	-79.03%

Summary

Equillium beats Moleculin Biotech on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Equillium

Equillium, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops and sells products to treat severe autoimmune and inflammatory, or immuno-inflammatory disorders with unmet medical need. The company's lead product candidate is itolizumab (EQ001), a first-in-class monoclonal antibody that targets the immune checkpoint receptor CD6, which is in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of acute graft-versus-host disease; completed Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of ulcerative colitis; and Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of lupus nephritis. It also develops EQ101 completed phase 1/2 for treatment of cutaneous T cell lymphoma and alopecia areata; and EQ302 to treat gastrointestinal indications. In addition, it serves dermatology, gastroenterology, rheumatology, hematology, transplant science, oncology, and pulmonology area. The company was formerly known as Attenuate Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed its name to Equillium, Inc. in May 2017. Equillium, Inc. was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in La Jolla, California.

About Moleculin Biotech

Moleculin Biotech, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of drug candidates for the treatment of cancers and viruses. Its lead drug candidate is Annamycin, which is in Phase 1B/2 clinical trials for the treatment of relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and soft tissue sarcoma metastasized to the lungs. The company is also developing WP1066, an immune/transcription modulator designed to inhibit phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription and other oncogenic transcription factors targeting brain tumors, and pancreatic and other cancers. In addition, it develops WP1220, an analog of WP1066 for the topical treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma; and WP1122 to treat viruses, as well as cancer indications, including brain tumors, and pancreatic and other cancers. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.