BioAtla (NASDAQ:BCAB) & SQZ Biotechnologies (NYSE:SQZ) Head-To-Head Contrast

SQZ Biotechnologies (NYSE:SQZ) and BioAtla (NASDAQ:BCAB) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

38.5% of SQZ Biotechnologies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.2% of BioAtla shares are held by institutional investors. 16.0% of SQZ Biotechnologies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.4% of BioAtla shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares SQZ Biotechnologies and BioAtla’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SQZ Biotechnologies	-369.96%	-119.83%	-59.90%
BioAtla	N/A	-110.65%	-75.37%

Risk and Volatility

SQZ Biotechnologies has a beta of 2.34, suggesting that its stock price is 134% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BioAtla has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for SQZ Biotechnologies and BioAtla, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SQZ Biotechnologies	0	0	0	0	N/A
BioAtla	0	0	3	0	3.00

BioAtla has a consensus target price of $11.00, suggesting a potential upside of 354.55%. Given BioAtla’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe BioAtla is more favorable than SQZ Biotechnologies.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares SQZ Biotechnologies and BioAtla’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SQZ Biotechnologies	$18.16 million	0.08	-$79.46 million	($2.61)	-0.02
BioAtla	$250,000.00	452.14	-$123.46 million	($2.59)	-0.91

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

Summary

BioAtla beats SQZ Biotechnologies on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SQZ Biotechnologies

SQZ Biotechnologies Company, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops cell therapies for patients with cancer, autoimmune, infectious diseases, and other serious conditions. Its lead product candidate is SQZ-PBMC-HPV, from its SQZ Antigen Presenting Cells platform, which is in a Phase I clinical trial as a monotherapy and in combination with immuno-oncology agents for the treatment of HPV16+ advanced or metastatic solid tumors, including cervical, head-and-neck, anal, penile, vulvar, and vaginal cancer. The company also develops SQZ-AAC-HPV, which is in a Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of HPV16+ advanced or metastatic solid tumors in monotherapy and in combinations with immune-oncology agents. Its additional platforms in development are SQZ Activating Antigen Carriers; and SQZ Tolerizing Antigen Carriers. The Company was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts.

About BioAtla

BioAtla, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops specific and selective antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of solid tumor cancer. The company's lead clinical stage product candidates include mecbotamab vedotin (BA3011), a conditionally active biologic (CAB) antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), which is in Phase II clinical trial for treating undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); and ozuriftabmab vedotin (BA3021), a CAB ADC that is in Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of melanoma and squamous cell cancer of the head and neck. It is also developing Evalstotug (BA3071), a CAB anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 antibody, which is in Phase II clinical trial for treating melanoma, carcinomas, and NSCLC; and BA3182, a bispecific candidate that is in Phase 1 study for the treatment of adenocarcinomas, as well as BA3361, which is in preclinical studies for treating multiple tumor types. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.