Financial Analysis: Carmell (NASDAQ:CTCX) & Biostage (OTCMKTS:BSTG)

Biostage (OTCMKTS:BSTG) and Carmell (NASDAQ:CTCX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Biostage and Carmell, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Biostage	0	0	1	0	3.00
Carmell	0	0	0	0	0.00

Profitability

This table compares Biostage and Carmell’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Biostage	N/A	N/A	-174.43%
Carmell	N/A	-217.50%	-50.22%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

24.2% of Carmell shares are held by institutional investors. 15.3% of Biostage shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 29.0% of Carmell shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Biostage and Carmell”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Biostage	N/A	N/A	-$6.07 million	($0.58)	-7.67
Carmell	$32,839.00	343.12	-$15.44 million	($0.46)	-1.17

Biostage has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Carmell. Biostage is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Carmell, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Biostage has a beta of -1.02, indicating that its share price is 202% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Carmell has a beta of 0.51, indicating that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Carmell beats Biostage on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Biostage

Biostage, Inc., a biotechnology company, offers products to cure patients of cancers, injuries, and birth defects of the gastro-intestinal tract and the airways. The company's pipeline includes organ-regeneration technology for the repair or replacement of diseased or damaged organs, as well as product candidates to treat cancer, injury, and birth defects of the bronchus. Its lead product candidate is Biostage Esophageal Implant for the treatment of severe esophageal disease. The company was formerly known as Harvard Apparatus Regenerative Technology, Inc. and changed its name to Biostage, Inc. in March 2016. Biostage, Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Holliston, Massachusetts.

About Carmell

Carmell Corporation operates as a bio-aesthetics company. The company utilizes Carmell Secretome to support skin and hair health. Its Carmell Secretome consists of growth factors and proteins extracted from allogeneic human platelets sourced from tissue banks. The company also developed a microemulsion formulation that enables delivery of lipophilic and hydrophilic ingredients without relying on the Foul Fourteen, 14 potentially harmful excipients that are commonly used by other companies to impart texture, stability, and other desirable physicochemical attributes to cosmetic products. In addition, the company is also developing a line of men's products and a line of topical haircare products. It has licensing agreement with Carnegie Mellon University to develop and commercialize biocompatible plasma-based plastics. The company was formerly known as Carmell Therapeutics Corporation and changed its name to Carmell Corporation in November 2023. Carmell Therapeutics Corporation was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.