TScan Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TCRX – Get Free Report) and Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS – Get Free Report) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for TScan Therapeutics and Arbutus Biopharma, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| TScan Therapeutics | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2.12 |
| Arbutus Biopharma | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
TScan Therapeutics presently has a consensus price target of $2.67, indicating a potential upside of 1,212.34%. Arbutus Biopharma has a consensus price target of $5.00, indicating a potential upside of 19.05%. Given TScan Therapeutics’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe TScan Therapeutics is more favorable than Arbutus Biopharma.
Profitability
This table compares TScan Therapeutics and Arbutus Biopharma’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| TScan Therapeutics | -1,655.35% | -108.72% | -54.47% |
| Arbutus Biopharma | 84.22% | 90.98% | 82.34% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
82.8% of TScan Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.8% of Arbutus Biopharma shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.2% of TScan Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.9% of Arbutus Biopharma shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares TScan Therapeutics and Arbutus Biopharma”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| TScan Therapeutics | $7.11 million | 1.94 | -$129.77 million | ($0.91) | -0.22 |
| Arbutus Biopharma | $14.08 million | 59.10 | -$33.50 million | $0.79 | 5.32 |
Arbutus Biopharma has higher revenue and earnings than TScan Therapeutics. TScan Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Arbutus Biopharma, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility & Risk
TScan Therapeutics has a beta of 1.15, indicating that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Arbutus Biopharma has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Arbutus Biopharma beats TScan Therapeutics on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About TScan Therapeutics
TScan Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops T cell receptor-engineered T cell (TCR-T) therapies for the treatment of patients with cancer in the United States. The company's lead product candidates include TSC-100 and TSC-101 that is in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of patients with hematologic malignancies to eliminate residual disease and prevent relapse after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. It also develops TSC-200, TSC-201, TSC-203, and TSC-204, which are in Phase 1 clinical trial, for the treatment of solid tumors; and TSC-202 to treat solid tumors. In addition, the company develops vaccines for infectious diseases, such as SARS-CoV-2. It has collaborations with Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc. To discover and develop novel TCR-T therapies; and Amgen Inc. to identify antigens recognized by T cells in patients with Crohn's disease using TargetScan, a proprietary target discovery platform. TScan Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.
About Arbutus Biopharma
Arbutus Biopharma Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, develops novel therapeutics for chronic Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in the United States. Its HBV product pipeline consists of imdusiran (AB-729), a proprietary subcutaneously-delivered RNAi therapeutic product candidate that suppresses all HBV antigens, including HBsAg expression. The company’s research and development programs include AB-101, an oral PD-L1 inhibitor to reawaken patients’ HBV-specific immune system; and small molecule antiviral medicines to treat coronaviruses, including COVID-19. It has licensing agreements with Gritstone Oncology, Inc; Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Qilu Pharmaceuticals Co, Ltd; Assembly Biosciences, Inc.; Acuitas Therapeutics, Inc.; and Antios Therapeutics, Inc. Arbutus Biopharma Corporation also has a clinical collaboration agreement with Barinthus Biotherapeutics plc to evaluate VTP-300. The company was formerly known as Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation and changed its name to Arbutus Biopharma Corporation in July 2015. Arbutus Biopharma Corporation is headquartered in Warminster, Pennsylvania.
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