Analyzing MacroGenics (NASDAQ:MGNX) & Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS)

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) and MacroGenics (NASDAQ:MGNX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Cerus and MacroGenics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cerus	1	1	2	0	2.25
MacroGenics	1	3	3	0	2.29

Cerus currently has a consensus price target of $4.00, indicating a potential upside of 39.37%. MacroGenics has a consensus price target of $5.50, indicating a potential upside of 37.16%. Given Cerus’ higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Cerus is more favorable than MacroGenics.

Volatility & Risk

Cerus has a beta of 1.77, meaning that its share price is 77% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MacroGenics has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Cerus and MacroGenics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cerus	-4.41%	-15.18%	-4.38%
MacroGenics	-44.79%	-147.80%	-28.40%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.4% of Cerus shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.9% of MacroGenics shares are held by institutional investors. 5.3% of Cerus shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.6% of MacroGenics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Cerus and MacroGenics”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cerus	$206.13 million	2.79	-$15.63 million	($0.05)	-57.40
MacroGenics	$149.50 million	1.70	-$74.62 million	($1.10)	-3.65

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

Summary

Cerus beats MacroGenics on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cerus

Cerus Corporation operates as a biomedical products company. The company focuses on developing and commercializing the INTERCEPT Blood System to enhance blood safety. Its INTERCEPT Blood System, a proprietary technology for controlling biological replication that is designed to reduce blood-borne pathogens in donated blood components intended for transfusion. The company offers INTERCEPT Blood Systems for platelets and plasma, which is designed to inactivate blood-borne pathogens in platelets and plasma donated for transfusion; INTERCEPT Blood System for red blood cells to inactivate blood-borne pathogens in red blood cells donated for transfusion; and INTERCEPT Blood System for Cryoprecipitation that uses its plasma system to produce pathogen reduced cryoprecipitated fibrinogen complex for the treatment and control of bleeding, including massive hemorrhage associated with fibrinogen deficiency, as well as pathogen reduced plasma, cryoprecipitate reduced. It sells platelet and plasma systems through its direct sales force and distributors in the United States, Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Middle East, Latin America, and internationally. Cerus Corporation was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Concord, California.

About MacroGenics

MacroGenics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, and commercializes antibody-based therapeutics to treat cancer in the United States. Its approved product is MARGENZA (margetuximab-cmkb), a human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) receptor antagonist indicated, in combination with chemotherapy, for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer who have received two or more prior anti-HER2 regimens. The company's pipeline of immuno-oncology product candidates includes MGC018, an antibody drug conjugate (ADC), which targets solid tumors expressing B7-H3; Enoblituzumab, a monoclonal antibody that targets B7-H3; and MGD024, an investigational bispecific CD123 × CD3 DART molecule to minimize cytokine-release syndrome for patients with hematologic malignancies. In addition, it develops Lorigerlimab, a monoclonal antibody that targets the immune checkpoints PD-1 and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4; Tebotelimab, an investigational tetravalent DART molecule for PD-1 and lymphocyte-activation gene 3; Retifanlimab, a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting programmed death receptor-1; and IMGC936, an ADC that targets ADAM9, a cell surface protein over-expressed in various solid tumor types. Further, the company develops MGD014 and MGD020, a DART molecule to target the envelope protein of human immunodeficiency virus infected cells and CD3 on T cells; Teplizumab for the treatment of type 1 diabetes; and PRV-3279, a CD32B × CD79B DART molecule for the treatment of autoimmune indications. It has collaborations with Incyte Corporation; Zai Lab Limited; I-Mab Biopharma; and Janssen Biotech, Inc. The company was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland.