Critical Analysis: Cardiff Oncology (NASDAQ:CRDF) & Finch Therapeutics Group (NASDAQ:FNCH)

Cardiff Oncology (NASDAQ:CRDF) and Finch Therapeutics Group (NASDAQ:FNCH) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Volatility and Risk

Cardiff Oncology has a beta of 2.02, suggesting that its share price is 102% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Finch Therapeutics Group has a beta of 0.46, suggesting that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Cardiff Oncology and Finch Therapeutics Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cardiff Oncology	-6,594.92%	-54.54%	-47.11%
Finch Therapeutics Group	N/A	-136.63%	-57.40%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Cardiff Oncology and Finch Therapeutics Group’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cardiff Oncology	$490,000.00	308.48	-$41.44 million	($0.90)	-3.76
Finch Therapeutics Group	$110,000.00	29.71	-$74.75 million	($47.67)	-0.04

Cardiff Oncology has higher revenue and earnings than Finch Therapeutics Group. Cardiff Oncology is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Finch Therapeutics Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

16.3% of Cardiff Oncology shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 21.8% of Finch Therapeutics Group shares are held by institutional investors. 6.3% of Cardiff Oncology shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 44.9% of Finch Therapeutics Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Cardiff Oncology and Finch Therapeutics Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cardiff Oncology	0	0	2	0	3.00
Finch Therapeutics Group	0	0	0	0	N/A

Cardiff Oncology presently has a consensus target price of $10.50, suggesting a potential upside of 210.65%. Given Cardiff Oncology’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Cardiff Oncology is more favorable than Finch Therapeutics Group.

Summary

Cardiff Oncology beats Finch Therapeutics Group on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cardiff Oncology

Cardiff Oncology, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops novel therapies to treat various cancers in California. Its lead drug candidate is onvansertib, an oral selective Polo-like Kinase 1 Inhibitor to treatment a range of solid tumor cancers and KRAS/NRAS-mutated metastatic colorectal and metastatic pancreatic cancer, as well as investigator-initiated trials in triple negative breast cancer and small cell lung cancer; and TROV-054 is a Phase 1b/2 for FOLFIRI and bevacizumab. The company primarily serves pharmaceutical manufacturers. The company was formerly known as Trovagene, Inc. and changed its name to Cardiff Oncology, Inc. in May 2012. Cardiff Oncology, Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About Finch Therapeutics Group

Finch Therapeutics Group, Inc., a clinical-stage microbiome therapeutics company, develops a novel class of orally administered biological drugs in the United States. The company develops FIN-211, a microbiome candidate designed to address the gastrointestinal and behavioral symptoms of autism spectrum disorder; and FIN-524, FIN-525, and other microbiome product candidates for inflammatory bowel disease. The company has collaboration and license agreements with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited; Skysong Innovations LLC; and University of Minnesota. Finch Therapeutics Group, Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is based in Somerville, Massachusetts.