Head-To-Head Review: Galecto (NASDAQ:GLTO) & Exicure (NASDAQ:XCUR)

Exicure (NASDAQ:XCUR) and Galecto (NASDAQ:GLTO) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Exicure and Galecto”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Exicure	N/A	N/A	-$9.70 million	($3.70)	-1.68
Galecto	N/A	N/A	-$21.44 million	($12.10)	-2.06

Galecto is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Exicure, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

42.8% of Exicure shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 14.2% of Galecto shares are owned by institutional investors. 52.8% of Exicure shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 10.5% of Galecto shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Exicure has a beta of 4.06, meaning that its stock price is 306% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Galecto has a beta of 1.42, meaning that its stock price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Exicure and Galecto, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Exicure	1	0	0	0	1.00
Galecto	1	1	2	1	2.60

Galecto has a consensus price target of $41.00, indicating a potential upside of 64.13%. Given Galecto’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Galecto is more favorable than Exicure.

Profitability

This table compares Exicure and Galecto’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Exicure	N/A	-177.55%	-86.42%
Galecto	N/A	-147.05%	-111.33%

Summary

Exicure beats Galecto on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Exicure

Exicure, Inc., an early-stage biotechnology company, develops nucleic acid therapies targeting ribonucleic acid against validated targets. The company's preclinical candidate includes SCN9A that is in preclinical studies for the treatment of chronic pain. It also develops immuno-oncology therapeutics based on its proprietary SNA technology. Exicure, Inc. was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

About Galecto

Galecto, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops molecules for the treatment of fibrosis, cancer, inflammation, and other related diseases. The company's lead product candidate is GB2064, which is in Phase IIa for the treatment of myelofibrosis. It also develops GB2064, a selective oral small molecule inhibitor of LOXL2 that is in Phase 2a clinical trial for the treatment of fibrotic diseases, including cancer and myelofibrosis; and GB1211, a selective oral galectin-3 inhibitor that is in Phase IIa for the treatment of cancer, as well as in Phase Ib/IIa for fibrosis. Galecto, Inc. was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark.