Critical Contrast: Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) versus AbCellera Biologics (NASDAQ:ABCL)

Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) and AbCellera Biologics (NASDAQ:ABCL) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Agenus and AbCellera Biologics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Agenus	$114.20 million	2.70	$120,000.00	$2.58	2.65
AbCellera Biologics	$75.13 million	50.07	-$146.41 million	($0.54)	-22.72

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

61.5% of Agenus shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.4% of AbCellera Biologics shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.5% of Agenus shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 28.4% of AbCellera Biologics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Agenus has a beta of 1.31, suggesting that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AbCellera Biologics has a beta of 1.41, suggesting that its stock price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Agenus and AbCellera Biologics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Agenus	69.33%	-47.68%	57.73%
AbCellera Biologics	-248.83%	-17.49%	-12.36%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Agenus and AbCellera Biologics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Agenus	1	1	4	0	2.50
AbCellera Biologics	1	2	6	2	2.82

Agenus currently has a consensus price target of $24.50, suggesting a potential upside of 258.19%. AbCellera Biologics has a consensus price target of $14.60, suggesting a potential upside of 18.99%. Given Agenus’ higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Agenus is more favorable than AbCellera Biologics.

Summary

Agenus beats AbCellera Biologics on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Agenus

Agenus Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, discovers and develops immuno-oncology products in the United States and internationally. The company offers Retrocyte Display, an antibody expression platform for the identification of fully human and humanized monoclonal antibodies; and display technologies. It develops QS-21 Stimulon adjuvant, a saponin-based vaccine adjuvant. The company also develops Balstilimab, an anti-PD-1 antagonist that has completed Phase II clinical trial to treat second line cervical cancer; AGEN1181, an antigen 4 (CTLA-4) blocking antibody that is in Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of pancreatic cancer and and melanoma; AGEN2373, a CD137 monospecific antibody that is in Phase 1b clinical trial; AGEN1423, a CD73/TGFß TRAP antibody; AGEN1571, an ILT2 monospecific antibody that is in Phase 1 clinical trial; and BMS-986442, a TIGIT bispecific antibodies. In addition, it develops INCAGN1876, a GITR agonist; INCAGN2390, a TIM-3 monospecific antibody; INCAGN2385, a LAG-3 monospecific antibody; MK-4830, a monospecific antibody targeting ILT4 that is in Phase 2 clinical trial; UGN-301, a zalifrelimab intravesical solution for the treatment of cancers of the urinary tract that is in a Phase 1 clinical trial; and AGEN1884, a first-generation anti-CTLA-4 monospecific antibody. The company operates under Agenus, MiNK, Prophage, Retrocyte Display, and Stimulon trademarks. It has collaborations with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Betta Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Incyte Corporation, Merck Sharpe & Dohme, and Gilead Sciences, Inc. The company was formerly known as Antigenics Inc. and changed its name to Agenus Inc. in January 2011. Agenus Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts.

About AbCellera Biologics

AbCellera Biologics Inc. builds an engine for antibody drug discovery and development. Its engine discovers antibodies from natural immune responses, which are pre-enriched for antibodies. The company’s preclinical products are ABCL635 for metabolic and endocrine conditions; and ABCL575 for atopic dermatitis. It has a research collaboration and license agreement with Eli Lilly and Company; a research collaboration with Confo Therapeutics for the discovery of therapeutic antibody candidates targeting two undisclosed GPCR targets; and strategic collaboration with Biogen Inc. to discover therapeutic antibodies for neurological conditions, as well as collaboration with Viking Global Investors and ArrowMark Partners. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.