Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AGIO – Get Free Report) and HCW Biologics (NASDAQ:HCWB – Get Free Report) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations and risk.
Risk and Volatility
Agios Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HCW Biologics has a beta of 2.37, meaning that its stock price is 137% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Agios Pharmaceuticals and HCW Biologics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Agios Pharmaceuticals | -418.24% | -35.67% | -33.06% |
| HCW Biologics | -83.03% | -262.33% | -34.90% |
Earnings and Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Agios Pharmaceuticals | $54.03 million | 36.57 | -$412.78 million | ($7.01) | -4.72 |
| HCW Biologics | $50,000.00 | 108.19 | -$7.96 million | ($27.60) | -0.11 |
HCW Biologics has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Agios Pharmaceuticals. Agios Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than HCW Biologics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
3.0% of HCW Biologics shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of Agios Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.1% of HCW Biologics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Agios Pharmaceuticals and HCW Biologics, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Agios Pharmaceuticals | 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2.55 |
| HCW Biologics | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Agios Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus price target of $41.25, suggesting a potential upside of 24.62%. HCW Biologics has a consensus price target of $30.00, suggesting a potential upside of 920.41%. Given HCW Biologics’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe HCW Biologics is more favorable than Agios Pharmaceuticals.
Summary
HCW Biologics beats Agios Pharmaceuticals on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Agios Pharmaceuticals
Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, discovers and develops medicines in the field of cellular metabolism in the United States. Its lead product includes PYRUKYND (mitapivat), an activator of wild-type and mutant pyruvate kinase (PK), enzymes for the treatment of hemolytic anemias. The company develops AG-946, a PK activator for treating lower-risk myelodysplastic syndrome and hemolytic anemias; and AG-181, a phenylalanine hydroxylase stabilizer for the treatment of phenylketonuria. Its preclinical product is siRNA for the treatment of polycythemia vera, a rare blood disorder. Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
About HCW Biologics
HCW Biologics Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing novel immunotherapies for chronic, low-grade inflammation, and age-related diseases in the United States. The company's lead products include HCW9218, which is in Phase 1 clinical chemo-refractory/chemo-resistant solid tumors with pancreatic, ovarian, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers, as well as Phase 2 clinical trial with metastatic advanced stage ovarian cancer patients; and HCW9302 for autoimmune and proinflammatory diseases, such as alopecia areata diseases. It also develops HCW9201, a cell-based therapy that is in Phase I clinical trials for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory acute myelogenous leukemia; and HCW9206, an injectable immunotherapeutic to use as adjuvant for adoptive cell therapy in cancer treatment. HCW Biologics Inc. was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Miramar, Florida.
Receive News & Ratings for Agios Pharmaceuticals Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Agios Pharmaceuticals and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
