Critical Comparison: Kamada (NASDAQ:KMDA) & AC Immune (NASDAQ:ACIU)

Kamada (NASDAQ:KMDA) and AC Immune (NASDAQ:ACIU) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, valuation and risk.

Volatility & Risk

Kamada has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AC Immune has a beta of 1.56, suggesting that its share price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Kamada and AC Immune”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kamada	$180.46 million	2.48	$20.20 million	$0.38	20.45
AC Immune	$4.31 million	57.14	-$85.03 million	($0.54)	-4.48

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Kamada and AC Immune, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kamada	0	0	4	0	3.00
AC Immune	1	0	3	1	2.80

Kamada presently has a consensus target price of $13.50, suggesting a potential upside of 73.75%. AC Immune has a consensus target price of $7.50, suggesting a potential upside of 209.92%. Given AC Immune’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe AC Immune is more favorable than Kamada.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

20.4% of Kamada shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.4% of AC Immune shares are held by institutional investors. 36.1% of Kamada shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of AC Immune shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Kamada and AC Immune’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kamada	11.60%	8.37%	5.85%
AC Immune	-245.32%	-100.17%	-28.36%

Summary

Kamada beats AC Immune on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kamada

Kamada Ltd. manufactures and sells plasma-derived protein therapeutics. Its commercial products include KAMRAB/KEDRAB for treating prophylaxis of rabies; CYTOGAM for Prophylaxis of Cytomegalovirus disease in kidney, lung, liver, pancreas, heart, and heart/lung transplants; VARIZIG for post exposure prophylaxis of varicella; WINRHO SDF for immune thrombocytopenic purpura and suppression of rhesus isoimmunization; HEPAGAM B for prevention of hepatitis B recurrence liver transplants and post-exposure prophylaxis; GLASSIA for intravenous AATD; KAMRHO (D) IM for prophylaxis of hemolytic disease of newborns; KAMRHO (D) IV for immune thermobocytopunic purpura; and Echis coloratus and Vipera palaestinae Antiserum for the treatment of snake bite. The company also distributes imported drug products in Israel, including BRAMITOB to manage chronic pulmonary infection; FOSTER to treat asthma; TRIMBOW for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; PROVOCHOLINE for the diagnosis of bronchial airway hyperactivity; AEROBIKA, an OPEP device; RUPAFIN and RUPAFIN ORAL SOLUTION for allergic rhinitis and Urticaria; SINTREDIUS for rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and mild-moderate juvenile dermatomyositis; IVIG for immunodeficiency-related conditions; VARITECT for chicken pox and zoster herpes; ZUTECTRA and HEPATECT CP for hepatitis B; MEGALOTECT CP for CMV virus; RUCONEST for angioedema attack; HEPARIN SODIUM INJECTION for thrombo-embolic disorders and prophylaxis of deep vein thrombosis and thromboembolic events; ALBUMIN and ALBUMIN for blood plasma; Factor VIII for hemophilia type A; and Factor IX for hemophilia type B. In addition, it distributes COAGADEX for hereditary factor X deficiency; IXIARO for Japanese encephalitis; VIVOTIF for Salmonella Typhi; PROCYSBI for nephropathic cystinosis; LAMZEDE for alpha-mannosidosis; ELIGARD for prostate cancer; and BEVACIZUMAB KAMADA for various cancers. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Rehovot, Israel.

About AC Immune

AC Immune SA, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers, designs, and develops medicines and diagnostic products for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases associated with protein misfolding. Its SupraAntigen and Morphomer platforms are designed to generate vaccines, antibodies, and small molecules, which selectively interact with misfolded proteins that are common in a range of neurodegenerative diseases. The company is developing Crenezumab, a humanized, conformation-specific monoclonal antibody, which is in Phase II clinical studies trial for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is also developing ACI-24, an anti-Abeta vaccine candidate that is in Phase II clinical study for AD, as well as completed Phase Ib clinical study for Down syndrome; ACI-35, an anti-Tau vaccine candidate that is in Phase Ib/2a clinical study; and Tau- positron emission tomography (PET) imaging tracer, which is in Phase II clinical study. In addition, the company is researching and developing small molecule Tau aggregation inhibitors for AD and NeuroOrphan indications. Further, it has discovery and preclinical stage molecules targeting range of neurodegenerative diseases, which include diagnostics targeting TDP-43, alpha-synuclein, and NLRP3. AC Immune SA has license agreements and collaborations with Genentech, Inc.; Biogen International GmbH; Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Life Molecular Imaging SA; Eli Lilly and Company; and WuXi Biologics. The company was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland.