Head-To-Head Analysis: Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) and Celldex Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CLDX)

Precigen (NASDAQ:PGEN) and Celldex Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CLDX) are both mid-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Precigen and Celldex Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Precigen	1	0	3	1	2.80
Celldex Therapeutics	1	1	10	1	2.85

Precigen presently has a consensus target price of $14.50, suggesting a potential upside of 111.68%. Celldex Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $56.42, suggesting a potential upside of 52.89%. Given Precigen’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Precigen is more favorable than Celldex Therapeutics.

Profitability

This table compares Precigen and Celldex Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Precigen	-183.98%	423.75%	84.39%
Celldex Therapeutics	N/A	-52.35%	-47.61%

Volatility & Risk

Precigen has a beta of 1.02, suggesting that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Celldex Therapeutics has a beta of 0.84, suggesting that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

33.5% of Precigen shares are held by institutional investors. 41.4% of Precigen shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.2% of Celldex Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Precigen and Celldex Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Precigen	$9.68 million	252.28	-$250.64 million	($1.04)	-6.59
Celldex Therapeutics	$1.54 million	1,881.66	-$258.76 million	($4.35)	-8.48

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

Summary

Precigen beats Celldex Therapeutics on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Precigen

Precigen, Inc. operates as a discovery and clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops gene and cell therapies using precision technology to target diseases in therapeutic areas of immuno-oncology, autoimmune disorders, and infectious diseases. It operates through two segments, Biopharmaceuticals and Exemplar. The company offers therapeutic platforms consisting of UltraCAR-T to provide chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapies for cancer patients; AdenoVerse immunotherapy, which utilizes a library of proprietary adenovectors for gene delivery of therapeutic effectors, immunomodulators, and vaccine antigen; and ActoBiotics for specific disease modification. It also develops programs based on the UltraCAR-T platform, including PRGN-3005 in Phase 1b clinical trial to treat advanced ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer; PRGN-3006 in Phase 1b trial for patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia and high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes; and PRGN-3007 in Phase 1/1b trial for the treatment of advanced receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1-positive, hematologic, and solid tumors. In addition, the company is developing programs based on the AdenoVerse immunotherapy platform comprising PRGN-2009 in Phase 2 trial for patients with HPV-associated cancer; and PRGN-2012 in Phase ½ trial to treat recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, as well as AG019, which is based on the ActoBiotics platform and in Phase 1b/2a trial, to treat type 1 diabetes mellitus. Further, it provides UltraPorator, a proprietary electroporation device; and develops research models and services for healthcare research applications. The company was formerly known as Intrexon Corporation and changed its name to Precigen, Inc. in February 2020. Precigen, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Germantown, Maryland.

About Celldex Therapeutics

Celldex Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in developing therapeutic monoclonal and bispecific antibodies for the treatment of various diseases. Its drug candidates include antibody-based therapeutics to treat patients with inflammatory, allergic, autoimmune, and other devastating diseases. The company’s clinical development programs CDX-0159, a Phase II monoclonal antibody that binds the receptor tyrosine kinase KIT and inhibits its activity. It has research collaboration and license agreements with Yale University. The company was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Hampton, New Jersey.