Contrasting Coya Therapeutics (NASDAQ:COYA) & Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN)

Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) and Coya Therapeutics (NASDAQ:COYA) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Agenus and Coya Therapeutics”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Agenus	$114.20 million	2.63	$120,000.00	$2.58	2.58
Coya Therapeutics	$7.95 million	8.45	-$21.23 million	($1.07)	-2.68

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

Risk and Volatility

Agenus has a beta of 1.53, meaning that its stock price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Coya Therapeutics has a beta of 0.7, meaning that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

61.5% of Agenus shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.8% of Coya Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.5% of Agenus shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.1% of Coya Therapeutics 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.

Profitability

This table compares Agenus and Coya Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Agenus	69.33%	-47.68%	57.73%
Coya Therapeutics	-270.22%	-52.05%	-46.34%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Agenus and Coya Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Agenus	1	1	4	0	2.50
Coya Therapeutics	1	0	5	0	2.67

Agenus presently has a consensus target price of $24.50, suggesting a potential upside of 268.75%. Coya Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 423.56%. Given Coya Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Coya Therapeutics is more favorable than Agenus.

Summary

Agenus beats Coya Therapeutics on 10 of the 14 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 Coya Therapeutics

Coya Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in the development of proprietary medicinal products to modulate the function of regulatory T cells (Tregs). The company's product candidate pipeline is based on therapeutic modalities, such as Treg-enhancing biologics, Treg-derived exosomes, and autologous Treg cell therapy. It is developing COYA 101, an autologous regulatory T-cell product candidate that has completed Phase 2a clinical trial for use in the treatment of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. The company's product candidates in IND-enabling studies include COYA 301, a low-dose interleukin 2 Treg-enhancing biologic, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial for use in the treatment of Frontotemporal Dementia; and COYA 302, a biologic combination for subcutaneous administration intended to enhance Treg function while depleting T effector function and activated macrophages for use in the treatment of neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases. It is also developing COYA 201, an antigen directed Treg-derived exosome product candidate that is in preclinical stage for use in the treatment of neurodegenerative, autoimmune, and metabolic diseases; and COYA 206, an antigen directed Treg-derived exosome product candidate, which is in discovery stage. The company has a collaboration with Dr. Reddy's Laboratories SA for the development and commercialization of COYA 302, an investigational combination therapy for treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The company was incorporated in 2020 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.