bluebird bio (NASDAQ:BLUE – Get Rating) and Vaxart (NASDAQ:VXRT – Get Rating) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership and profitability.
Risk and Volatility
bluebird bio has a beta of 1.29, indicating that its stock price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vaxart has a beta of 0.69, indicating that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Get bluebird bio alerts:Insider and Institutional Ownership
96.4% of bluebird bio shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 45.9% of Vaxart shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.9% of bluebird bio shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Vaxart shares are owned 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.
Profitability
This table compares bluebird bio and Vaxart's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| bluebird bio | -2,141.34% | -130.19% | -73.31% |
| Vaxart | -16,892.57% | -41.95% | -35.70% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current recommendations for bluebird bio and Vaxart, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| bluebird bio | 1 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2.21 |
| Vaxart | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2.67 |
bluebird bio currently has a consensus price target of $11.08, indicating a potential upside of 96.51%. Vaxart has a consensus price target of $13.00, indicating a potential upside of 199.54%. Given Vaxart's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Vaxart is more favorable than bluebird bio.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares bluebird bio and Vaxart's top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| bluebird bio | $3.66 million | 118.84 | -$819.38 million | ($8.32) | -0.68 |
| Vaxart | $890,000.00 | 616.41 | -$70.47 million | ($0.64) | -6.78 |
Vaxart has lower revenue, but higher earnings than bluebird bio. Vaxart is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than bluebird bio, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
About bluebird bio
(Get Rating)
bluebird bio, Inc., a biotechnology company, researches, develops, and commercializes transformative gene therapies for severe genetic diseases. Its product candidates for severe genetic diseases include betibeglogene autotemcel for the treatment of transfusion-dependent ß-thalassemia; lovotibeglogene autotemcel for the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD); and elivaldogene autotemcel to treat cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy. The company's clinical study program includes HGB-205, HGB-206, and HGB-210 to evaluate the safety and efficacy of lovo-cel in the treatment of patients with SCD; and HGB-204, HGB-205, HGB-207, and HGB-212 to evaluate the safety and efficacy of beti-cel in the treatment of patients with ß-thalassemia. It has strategic collaboration and license agreements with Orchard Therapeutics Limited, Forty Seven, Inc., and Magenta Therapeutics, Inc. The company was formerly known as Genetix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and changed its name to bluebird bio, Inc. in September 2010. bluebird bio, Inc. was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
About Vaxart
(Get Rating)
Vaxart, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in the discovery and development of oral recombinant protein vaccines based on its proprietary oral vaccine platform. The company's product pipeline includes norovirus vaccine, an oral tablet vaccine, which is in a Phase Ib clinical trial with bivalent oral tablet vaccine for the GI.1 and GII.4 norovirus strains; seasonal influenza vaccine, which is in Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of H1 influenza infection; respiratory syncytial virus vaccine; and coronavirus vaccine, which is in Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection. It is also developing therapeutic vaccines for cervical cancer and dysplasia caused by human papillomavirus. The company is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.
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