CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) versus Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Critical Review

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) and CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, earnings, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Vaxcyte and CRISPR Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vaxcyte	0	0	8	0	3.00
CRISPR Therapeutics	1	8	10	0	2.47

Vaxcyte presently has a consensus price target of $145.71, indicating a potential upside of 79.76%. CRISPR Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $78.38, indicating a potential upside of 89.82%. Given CRISPR Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe CRISPR Therapeutics is more favorable than Vaxcyte.

Profitability

This table compares Vaxcyte and CRISPR Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vaxcyte	N/A	-23.53%	-22.20%
CRISPR Therapeutics	-118.13%	-12.15%	-10.35%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Vaxcyte and CRISPR Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vaxcyte	N/A	N/A	-$402.27 million	($4.60)	-17.62
CRISPR Therapeutics	$200.00 million	17.62	-$153.61 million	($2.83)	-14.59

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

96.8% of Vaxcyte shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.2% of CRISPR Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.1% of Vaxcyte shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.1% of CRISPR Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Vaxcyte has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CRISPR Therapeutics has a beta of 1.68, meaning that its stock price is 68% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

CRISPR Therapeutics beats Vaxcyte on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vaxcyte

Vaxcyte, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology vaccine company, develops novel protein vaccines to prevent or treat bacterial infectious diseases. Its lead vaccine candidate is VAX-24, a 24-valent investigational pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease. The company also develops VAX-31 to protect against emerging strains and to help address antibiotic resistance; VAX-A1, a novel conjugate vaccine candidate to prevent disease caused by Group A Streptococcus; VAX-PG, a novel protein vaccine candidate targeting keystone pathogen responsible for periodontitis; and VAX-GI to prevent Shigella, a bacterial illness. The company was formerly known as SutroVax, Inc. and changed its name to Vaxcyte, Inc. in May 2020. Vaxcyte, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in San Carlos, California.

About CRISPR Therapeutics

CRISPR Therapeutics is a gene-editing company focused on developing transformative gene-based medicines for serious diseases using its proprietary CRISPR/Cas9 platform. CRISPR/Cas9 is a revolutionary gene-editing technology that allows for precise, directed changes to genomic DNA. CRISPR Therapeutics has established a portfolio of therapeutic programs across a broad range of disease areas including hemoglobinopathies, oncology, regenerative medicine and rare diseases. To accelerate and expand its efforts, CRISPR Therapeutics has established strategic collaborations with companies including Bayer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and ViaCyte, Inc. CRISPR Therapeutics AG is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, with its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, CRISPR Therapeutics, Inc., and R&D operations based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and business offices in San Francisco, California and London, United Kingdom. For more information, please visit www.crisprtx.com.