Reviewing Aptose Biosciences (NASDAQ:APTO) and VectivBio (NASDAQ:VECT)

Aptose Biosciences (NASDAQ:APTO) and VectivBio (NASDAQ:VECT) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Aptose Biosciences and VectivBio’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aptose Biosciences	N/A	-1,003.74%	-257.64%
VectivBio	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

26.6% of Aptose Biosciences shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.6% of Aptose Biosciences shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of VectivBio shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Aptose Biosciences and VectivBio’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aptose Biosciences	N/A	N/A	-$51.21 million	($6.20)	-0.12
VectivBio	$27.34 million	N/A	-$93.74 million	N/A	N/A

Aptose Biosciences has higher earnings, but lower revenue than VectivBio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Aptose Biosciences and VectivBio, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aptose Biosciences	0	0	6	0	3.00
VectivBio	0	0	0	0	N/A

Aptose Biosciences presently has a consensus price target of $14.83, indicating a potential upside of 1,854.33%. Given Aptose Biosciences’ higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Aptose Biosciences is more favorable than VectivBio.

About Aptose Biosciences

Aptose Biosciences Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, discovers and develops personalized therapies addressing unmet medical needs in oncology in Canada. Its lead clinical program is APTO-253, which is a Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory hematologic malignancies. The company has an agreement with CrystalGenomics, Inc. to research, develop, and commercialize CG026806, a non-covalent small molecule therapeutic agent, which is in preclinical stage for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia and chronic lymphocytic leukemia/mantle cell lymphoma. The company was formerly known as Lorus Therapeutics Inc. and changed its name to Aptose Biosciences Inc. in August 2014. Aptose Biosciences Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Mississauga, Canada.

About VectivBio

VectivBio Holding AG, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of medicines for treatments of severe rare conditions. It develops apraglutide, a long-acting synthetic peptide analog of glucagon-like peptide-2 that is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of patients with short bowel syndrome-intestinal failure (SBS-IF), as well as apraglutide is in Phase II clinical trial for SBS-IF in patients with colon-in-continuity anatomy. The company is also developing apraglutide, which is in Phase II clinical trial for patients with steroid-refractory gastrointestinal acute versus host disease (aGvHD). VectivBio Holding AG was incorporated in 2019 and is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. As of June 29, 2023, VectivBio Holding AG operates as a subsidiary of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc.