Contrasting Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) and Molecular Partners (NASDAQ:MOLN)

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) and Molecular Partners (NASDAQ:MOLN) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

Vaxcyte has a beta of 1.27, meaning that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Molecular Partners has a beta of 1.15, meaning that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

96.8% of Vaxcyte shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.5% of Molecular Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.1% of Vaxcyte shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.9% of Molecular Partners shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Vaxcyte and Molecular Partners”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vaxcyte	N/A	N/A	-$402.27 million	($3.99)	-8.03
Molecular Partners	$4.97 million	31.96	-$69.04 million	($1.81)	-2.17

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

Profitability

This table compares Vaxcyte and Molecular Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vaxcyte	N/A	-23.53%	-22.20%
Molecular Partners	-1,043.01%	-39.31%	-35.46%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Vaxcyte and Molecular Partners, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vaxcyte	0	0	9	1	3.10
Molecular Partners	0	0	1	1	3.50

Vaxcyte currently has a consensus price target of $136.50, suggesting a potential upside of 326.16%. Molecular Partners has a consensus price target of $12.00, suggesting a potential upside of 205.03%. Given Vaxcyte’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Vaxcyte is more favorable than Molecular Partners.

Summary

Vaxcyte beats Molecular Partners on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vaxcyte

Vaxcyte, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology vaccine company, develops novel protein vaccines to prevent or treat bacterial infectious diseases. Its lead vaccine candidate is VAX-24, a 24-valent investigational pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease. The company also develops VAX-31 to protect against emerging strains and to help address antibiotic resistance; VAX-A1, a novel conjugate vaccine candidate to prevent disease caused by Group A Streptococcus; VAX-PG, a novel protein vaccine candidate targeting keystone pathogen responsible for periodontitis; and VAX-GI to prevent Shigella, a bacterial illness. The company was formerly known as SutroVax, Inc. and changed its name to Vaxcyte, Inc. in May 2020. Vaxcyte, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in San Carlos, California.

About Molecular Partners

Molecular Partners AG, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops designed ankyrin repeat proteins therapeutics for the treatment of oncology and virology diseases in Switzerland. The company develops MP0317, a CD40 agonist designed to activate immune cells within the tumor microenvironment by anchoring to fibroblast activation protein that is in Phase I clinical trial; and MP0533, a novel tetra-specific T cell-engaging DARPin for acute myeloid leukemia. It also develops Switch-DARPin platform, a multispecific cKIT x CD16a x CD47 Switch-DARPin program for targeted and conditional immune cell activation; and Radio-DARPin Therapy (RDT) platform, a delivery system for effective and selective delivery of radioactive payloads to solid tumors. It has license and research collaboration agreements with Novartis Pharma AG to develop DARPin-conjugated radioligand therapies; and collaboration agreement with Orano Med SAS to develop novel Radio-DARPin therapeutics. Molecular Partners AG was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Schlieren, Switzerland.