HilleVax (NASDAQ:HLVX – Get Free Report) and Fate Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FATE – Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and risk.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for HilleVax and Fate Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| HilleVax | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Fate Therapeutics | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2.30 |
HilleVax presently has a consensus target price of $3.00, suggesting a potential upside of 61.29%. Fate Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $6.75, suggesting a potential upside of 301.79%. Given Fate Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Fate Therapeutics is more favorable than HilleVax.
Profitability
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| HilleVax | N/A | -67.27% | -51.99% |
| Fate Therapeutics | -1,325.43% | -45.88% | -33.95% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
86.4% of HilleVax shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.5% of Fate Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 71.1% of HilleVax shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.0% of Fate Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares HilleVax and Fate Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| HilleVax | N/A | N/A | -$123.57 million | ($3.10) | -0.60 |
| Fate Therapeutics | $13.45 million | 14.23 | -$160.93 million | ($1.65) | -1.02 |
HilleVax has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Fate Therapeutics. Fate Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than HilleVax, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk and Volatility
HilleVax has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fate Therapeutics has a beta of 1.95, suggesting that its stock price is 95% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Fate Therapeutics beats HilleVax on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About HilleVax
HilleVax, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing novel vaccines in the United States. It develops HIL-214, a virus-like particle-based vaccine candidate for the prevention of moderate-to-severe acute gastroenteritis caused by norovirus infection. The company was formerly known as MokshaCo, Inc. and changed its name to HilleVax, Inc. in February 2021. HilleVax, Inc. was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
About Fate Therapeutics
Fate Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops programmed cellular immunotherapies for cancer and immune disorders worldwide. The company's chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-targeted NK and T-cell product candidates include FT576 to treat multiple myeloma, and FT522, to treat lymphoma and autoimmune disorders. Its CAR T-cell programs include FT819 to treat hematologic malignancies and solid tumors, and FT825 to treat solid tumors. The company has a collaboration and option agreement with Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. for the development and commercialization of off-the-shelf, iPSC-derived CAR T-cell product candidates for the treatment of cancer. Fate Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
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