Critical Comparison: Alpha Teknova (NASDAQ:TKNO) & Rapid Micro Biosystems (NASDAQ:RPID)

Alpha Teknova (NASDAQ:TKNO) and Rapid Micro Biosystems (NASDAQ:RPID) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Alpha Teknova and Rapid Micro Biosystems, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alpha Teknova	1	1	2	0	2.25
Rapid Micro Biosystems	1	0	2	0	2.33

Alpha Teknova presently has a consensus target price of $7.50, suggesting a potential upside of 5.34%. Rapid Micro Biosystems has a consensus target price of $6.00, suggesting a potential upside of 282.17%. Given Rapid Micro Biosystems’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Rapid Micro Biosystems is more favorable than Alpha Teknova.

Profitability

This table compares Alpha Teknova and Rapid Micro Biosystems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alpha Teknova	-38.37%	-24.94%	-16.53%
Rapid Micro Biosystems	-145.56%	-177.04%	-73.12%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

13.8% of Alpha Teknova shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.6% of Rapid Micro Biosystems shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.2% of Alpha Teknova shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 12.7% of Rapid Micro Biosystems shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Alpha Teknova and Rapid Micro Biosystems”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alpha Teknova	$40.52 million	9.42	-$17.26 million	($0.31)	-22.97
Rapid Micro Biosystems	$35.18 million	2.24	-$47.12 million	($1.12)	-1.40

Alpha Teknova has higher revenue and earnings than Rapid Micro Biosystems. Alpha Teknova is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Rapid Micro Biosystems, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Alpha Teknova has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rapid Micro Biosystems has a beta of 1.44, suggesting that its stock price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Alpha Teknova beats Rapid Micro Biosystems on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alpha Teknova

Alpha Teknova, Inc. produces critical reagents for the research, discovery, development, and commercialization of novel therapies, vaccines, and molecular diagnostics in the United States and internationally. The company offers pre-poured media plates for cell growth and cloning; liquid cell culture media and supplements for cellular expansion; and molecular biology reagents for sample manipulation, resuspension, and purification. It provides lab essentials which provides chemical formulations for use in biological research and drug discovery; and clinical solutions, a custom product used in the development and production of protein therapies, gene therapies, mRNA vaccines, and diagnostic kits. The company serves its products to life sciences market, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract development and manufacturing organizations, in vitro diagnostic franchises, as well as academic and government research institutions. Alpha Teknova, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Hollister, California.

About Rapid Micro Biosystems

Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc., a life sciences technology company, provides products for the detection of microbial contamination in the manufacture of pharmaceutical, medical devices, and personal care products in the United States, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, and internationally. The company offers Growth Direct platform, which includes Growth Direct system, proprietary consumables, lab information management system connection software, and customer support and validation services. Its platform automates and modernizes the manual microbial quality control (MQC) testing workflows for therapeutic modalities, such as biologics, vaccines, cell and gene therapies, and sterile injectables. The company also provides onsite technical training services. Its solutions are used in environmental monitoring, water, bioburden, and sterility release testing applications. In addition, the company offers RMBNucleus software for the Growth Direct system; RMBNucleus Mold Alarm signals at the first sign of mold detection; RMBNucleus Central Manager portal streamlines coordination of multiple instruments; and Growth Direct LIMS connection software. Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc. was formerly known as Genomic Profiling Systems, Inc. and changed its name to Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc. in January 2007. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Lowell, Massachusetts.