Contrasting Cognition Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CGTX) & Autolus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AUTL)

Autolus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AUTL) and Cognition Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CGTX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Autolus Therapeutics and Cognition Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Autolus Therapeutics	N/A	-80.21%	-41.47%
Cognition Therapeutics	N/A	-98.65%	-73.41%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Autolus Therapeutics and Cognition Therapeutics’ gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Autolus Therapeutics	$10.50 million	97.32	-$208.38 million	($1.20)	-3.20
Cognition Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$25.79 million	($0.92)	-0.82

Cognition Therapeutics has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Autolus Therapeutics. Autolus Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cognition Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

72.8% of Autolus Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.3% of Cognition Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 25.7% of Autolus Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.8% of Cognition Therapeutics 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.

Risk & Volatility

Autolus Therapeutics has a beta of 2.11, meaning that its share price is 111% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cognition Therapeutics has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Autolus Therapeutics and Cognition Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Autolus Therapeutics	0	1	4	0	2.80
Cognition Therapeutics	0	2	4	0	2.67

Autolus Therapeutics currently has a consensus price target of $8.70, suggesting a potential upside of 126.56%. Cognition Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $8.00, suggesting a potential upside of 955.41%. Given Cognition Therapeutics’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Cognition Therapeutics is more favorable than Autolus Therapeutics.

Summary

Autolus Therapeutics beats Cognition Therapeutics on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Autolus Therapeutics

Autolus Therapeutics plc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company's clinical-stage programs include obecabtagene autoleucel (AUTO1), a CD19-targeting programmed T cell investigational therapy that is in Phase 1b/2 clinical trial for the treatment of adult ALL; AUTO1/22, which is in a Phase 1 clinical trial in pediatric patients with relapsed or refractory ALL; AUTO4, a programmed T cell investigational therapy for the treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma targeting TRBC1 and TRBC2; AUTO6NG, a programmed T cell investigational therapy targeting GD2 in development for the treatment of neuroblastoma; and AUTO8, a product candidate to treat multiple myeloma. It focuses on developing AUTO5, a preclinical TRBC2 programmed T cell product candidate for the treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma. Autolus Therapeutics plc was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About Cognition Therapeutics

Cognition Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery and development of small molecule therapeutics targeting age-related degenerative diseases and disorders of the central nervous system and retina. Its lead product candidate is CT1812, an orally delivered molecule modulator designed to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and bind selectively to the S2R complex, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, as well as geographic atrophy secondary to dry age-related macular degeneration and synucleinopathies, such as dementia with Lewy bodies. The company was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York.