Financial Analysis: Sienna Biopharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:SNNAQ) and MaxCyte (NASDAQ:MXCT)

Sienna Biopharmaceuticals (OTCMKTS:SNNAQ) and MaxCyte (NASDAQ:MXCT) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, earnings and profitability.

Risk and Volatility

Sienna Biopharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MaxCyte has a beta of 1.2, indicating that its stock price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Sienna Biopharmaceuticals and MaxCyte”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sienna Biopharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
MaxCyte	$38.63 million	4.22	-$41.06 million	($0.43)	-3.56

Sienna Biopharmaceuticals has higher earnings, but lower revenue than MaxCyte.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

68.8% of MaxCyte shares are owned by institutional investors. 27.2% of Sienna Biopharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of MaxCyte shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Sienna Biopharmaceuticals and MaxCyte’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sienna Biopharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	N/A
MaxCyte	-125.22%	-22.12%	-19.10%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Sienna Biopharmaceuticals and MaxCyte, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sienna Biopharmaceuticals	0	0	0	0	0.00
MaxCyte	0	2	2	0	2.50

MaxCyte has a consensus price target of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 357.52%. Given MaxCyte’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe MaxCyte is more favorable than Sienna Biopharmaceuticals.

Summary

MaxCyte beats Sienna Biopharmaceuticals on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sienna Biopharmaceuticals

Sienna Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of drugs in various therapeutic areas. It develops therapies in immunology and inflammation that target select pathways in tissues, such as skin. The company's lead product candidates include SNA-120, a first-in-class inhibitor of tropomyosin receptor kinase A, which is in a Phase IIb clinical trial for the treatment of psoriasis and associated pruritus; and SNA-125, a topical dual Janus kinase 3 inhibitor that is in Phase I/II clinical trials for the treatment of atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and pruritus. It also develops SNA-001, a topical suspension of silver particles, which is in pivotal clinical trials for the treatment of acne, as well as for the reduction of light-pigmented hair, including white, gray, blonde, light brown, and light red hair. The company was formerly known as Sienna Labs, Inc. and changed its name to Sienna Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. in February 2016. Sienna Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Westlake Village, California. On December 18, 2019, Sienna Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 was converted to Chapter 7. It had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 16, 2019.

About MaxCyte

MaxCyte, Inc., a life sciences company, discovers, develops, and commercializes next-generation cell therapies in the United States and internationally. Its products include ExPERT ATx, a static electroporation instrument for small to medium scale transfection; ExPERT STx, a flow electroporation for protein production and drug development, as well as expression of therapeutic targets for cell-based assays; ExPERT GTx, a flow electroporation for large scale transfection in therapeutic applications; and ExPERT VLx for very large volume cell-engineering. The company also provides disposable processing assemblies (PAs) to process and electroporate cells; and accessories supporting PAs, such as electroporation buffer solution and software protocols. It licenses and sells its instruments and technology; and sells its consumables to developers of cell therapies, as well as to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for use in drug discovery and development, and bio-manufacturing. MaxCyte, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland.