AbCellera Biologics (NASDAQ:ABCL) & HilleVax (NASDAQ:HLVX) Head to Head Contrast
by Sarita Garza · The Markets DailyHilleVax (NASDAQ:HLVX – Get Free Report) and AbCellera Biologics (NASDAQ:ABCL – Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitability.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations for HilleVax and AbCellera Biologics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| HilleVax | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| AbCellera Biologics | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2.83 |
HilleVax currently has a consensus price target of $9.20, indicating a potential upside of 413.97%. AbCellera Biologics has a consensus price target of $14.20, indicating a potential upside of 454.69%. Given AbCellera Biologics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe AbCellera Biologics is more favorable than HilleVax.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares HilleVax 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 | |
| HilleVax | N/A | N/A | -$123.57 million | ($3.30) | -0.54 |
| AbCellera Biologics | $38.03 million | 19.84 | -$146.40 million | ($0.52) | -4.92 |
HilleVax has higher earnings, but lower revenue than AbCellera Biologics. AbCellera Biologics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than HilleVax, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
86.4% of HilleVax shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.4% of AbCellera Biologics shares are held by institutional investors. 71.1% of HilleVax shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 32.5% of AbCellera Biologics shares are held by 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.
Risk and Volatility
HilleVax has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AbCellera Biologics has a beta of 0.37, indicating that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares HilleVax and AbCellera Biologics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| HilleVax | N/A | -62.01% | -47.99% |
| AbCellera Biologics | -463.77% | -13.40% | -10.44% |
Summary
AbCellera Biologics beats HilleVax on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
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.
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.