Head-To-Head Contrast: HilleVax (NASDAQ:HLVX) versus Fate Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FATE)

Fate Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FATE) and HilleVax (NASDAQ:HLVX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.5% of Fate Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.4% of HilleVax shares are held by institutional investors. 5.0% of Fate Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 71.1% of HilleVax shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Fate Therapeutics and HilleVax”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fate Therapeutics	$13.45 million	14.23	-$160.93 million	($1.65)	-1.02
HilleVax	N/A	N/A	-$123.57 million	($3.10)	-0.60

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Fate Therapeutics and HilleVax, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fate Therapeutics	0	7	3	0	2.30
HilleVax	0	6	0	0	2.00

Fate Therapeutics currently has a consensus price target of $6.75, indicating a potential upside of 301.79%. HilleVax has a consensus price target of $3.00, indicating a potential upside of 61.29%. Given Fate Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Fate Therapeutics is more favorable than HilleVax.

Volatility and Risk

Fate Therapeutics has a beta of 1.95, suggesting that its stock price is 95% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HilleVax has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Fate Therapeutics and HilleVax’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fate Therapeutics	-1,325.43%	-45.88%	-33.95%
HilleVax	N/A	-67.27%	-51.99%

Summary

Fate Therapeutics beats HilleVax on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fate Therapeutics

Fate Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops programmed cellular immunotherapies for cancer and immune disorders worldwide. The company's chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-targeted NK and T-cell product candidates include FT576 to treat multiple myeloma, and FT522, to treat lymphoma and autoimmune disorders. Its CAR T-cell programs include FT819 to treat hematologic malignancies and solid tumors, and FT825 to treat solid tumors. The company has a collaboration and option agreement with Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. for the development and commercialization of off-the-shelf, iPSC-derived CAR T-cell product candidates for the treatment of cancer. Fate Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About HilleVax

HilleVax, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing novel vaccines in the United States. It develops HIL-214, a virus-like particle-based vaccine candidate for the prevention of moderate-to-severe acute gastroenteritis caused by norovirus infection. The company was formerly known as MokshaCo, Inc. and changed its name to HilleVax, Inc. in February 2021. HilleVax, Inc. was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.