HCW Biologics (NASDAQ:HCWB – Get Free Report) and Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AGIO – Get Free Report) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends and earnings.
Profitability
This table compares HCW Biologics and Agios Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| HCW Biologics | -83.03% | -262.33% | -34.90% |
| Agios Pharmaceuticals | -418.24% | -35.67% | -33.06% |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares HCW Biologics and Agios Pharmaceuticals”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| HCW Biologics | $50,000.00 | 108.19 | -$7.96 million | ($27.60) | -0.11 |
| Agios Pharmaceuticals | $54.03 million | 36.57 | -$412.78 million | ($7.01) | -4.72 |
HCW Biologics has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Agios Pharmaceuticals. Agios Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than HCW Biologics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
3.0% of HCW Biologics shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.1% of HCW Biologics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Agios Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Risk and Volatility
HCW Biologics has a beta of 2.37, indicating that its stock price is 137% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Agios Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for HCW Biologics and Agios Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| HCW Biologics | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Agios Pharmaceuticals | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2.55 |
HCW Biologics presently has a consensus target price of $30.00, indicating a potential upside of 920.41%. Agios Pharmaceuticals has a consensus target price of $41.25, indicating a potential upside of 24.62%. Given HCW Biologics’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe HCW Biologics is more favorable than Agios Pharmaceuticals.
Summary
HCW Biologics beats Agios Pharmaceuticals on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About HCW Biologics
HCW Biologics Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing novel immunotherapies for chronic, low-grade inflammation, and age-related diseases in the United States. The company's lead products include HCW9218, which is in Phase 1 clinical chemo-refractory/chemo-resistant solid tumors with pancreatic, ovarian, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers, as well as Phase 2 clinical trial with metastatic advanced stage ovarian cancer patients; and HCW9302 for autoimmune and proinflammatory diseases, such as alopecia areata diseases. It also develops HCW9201, a cell-based therapy that is in Phase I clinical trials for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory acute myelogenous leukemia; and HCW9206, an injectable immunotherapeutic to use as adjuvant for adoptive cell therapy in cancer treatment. HCW Biologics Inc. was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Miramar, Florida.
About Agios Pharmaceuticals
Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, discovers and develops medicines in the field of cellular metabolism in the United States. Its lead product includes PYRUKYND (mitapivat), an activator of wild-type and mutant pyruvate kinase (PK), enzymes for the treatment of hemolytic anemias. The company develops AG-946, a PK activator for treating lower-risk myelodysplastic syndrome and hemolytic anemias; and AG-181, a phenylalanine hydroxylase stabilizer for the treatment of phenylketonuria. Its preclinical product is siRNA for the treatment of polycythemia vera, a rare blood disorder. Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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