Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX – Get Free Report) and Co-Diagnostics (NASDAQ:CODX – Get Free Report) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.
Risk & Volatility
Novavax has a beta of 2.45, meaning that its share price is 145% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Co-Diagnostics has a beta of 2.85, meaning that its share price is 185% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Novavax and Co-Diagnostics, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Novavax | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2.33 |
| Co-Diagnostics | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2.50 |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Novavax and Co-Diagnostics”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Novavax | $1.12 billion | 1.50 | $440.30 million | ($1.52) | -6.72 |
| Co-Diagnostics | $721,386.00 | 11.23 | -$46.90 million | ($10.32) | -0.11 |
Novavax has higher revenue and earnings than Co-Diagnostics. Novavax is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Co-Diagnostics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Novavax and Co-Diagnostics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Novavax | -59.87% | -14.82% | -13.35% |
| Co-Diagnostics | -6,531.77% | -210.99% | -174.97% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
53.0% of Novavax shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.0% of Co-Diagnostics shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of Novavax shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.3% of Co-Diagnostics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Novavax beats Co-Diagnostics on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Novavax
Novavax, Inc., a biotechnology company, that promotes improved health by discovering, developing, and commercializing vaccines to protect against serious infectious diseases. It offers vaccine platform that combines a recombinant protein approach, nanoparticle technology, and its patented Matrix-M adjuvant to enhance the immune response. It focuses on urgent health challenges, which is evaluating vaccines for COVID-19, influenza, and COVID-19 influenza combination. The company is commercializing a COVID-19 vaccine, NVX-CoV2373 under the brand names of Nuvaxovid, Covovax, and Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, adjuvanted for adult and adolescent populations as a primary series and for both homologous and heterologous booster indications. It is also developing R21/Matrix-M adjuvant malaria vaccine. Novavax, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
About Co-Diagnostics
Co-Diagnostics, Inc., a molecular diagnostics company, develops, manufactures, and sells reagents used for diagnostic tests that function through the detection and/or analysis of nucleic acid molecules in the United States and internationally. The company offers Co-Dx PCR platform, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing to patients in point-of-care and at-home setting. It also provides PCR diagnostic tests for COVID-19, influenza, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, human papillomavirus, malaria, chikungunya, dengue, and the zika virus. In addition, the company offers three multiplexed tests to test mosquitos for the identification of diseases carried by the mosquitos; molecular tools for detection of infectious diseases, liquid biopsy for cancer screening, and agricultural applications; tests that identify genetic traits in plant and animal genomes; and portable diagnostic device designed to bring PCR to patients in point-of-care and at-home settings. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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