Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ – Get Free Report) and Purple Biotech (NASDAQ:PPBT – Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, dividends and profitability.
Volatility & Risk
Equillium has a beta of 1.67, suggesting that its stock price is 67% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Purple Biotech has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Equillium and Purple Biotech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Equillium | N/A | -61.43% | -53.72% |
| Purple Biotech | N/A | -123.63% | -98.72% |
Earnings and Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Equillium | $41.10 million | 3.17 | -$22.40 million | ($0.32) | -6.44 |
| Purple Biotech | N/A | N/A | -$26.39 million | ($18.84) | -0.16 |
Equillium has higher revenue and earnings than Purple Biotech. Equillium is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Purple Biotech, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations for Equillium and Purple Biotech, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Equillium | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2.75 |
| Purple Biotech | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Equillium currently has a consensus price target of $7.67, indicating a potential upside of 272.17%. Purple Biotech has a consensus price target of $30.00, indicating a potential upside of 906.71%. Given Purple Biotech’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Purple Biotech is more favorable than Equillium.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
27.1% of Equillium shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 9.6% of Purple Biotech shares are held by institutional investors. 17.8% of Equillium shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Purple Biotech shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Equillium beats Purple Biotech on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Equillium
Equillium, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops and sells products to treat severe autoimmune and inflammatory, or immuno-inflammatory disorders with unmet medical need. The company's lead product candidate is itolizumab (EQ001), a first-in-class monoclonal antibody that targets the immune checkpoint receptor CD6, which is in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of acute graft-versus-host disease; completed Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of ulcerative colitis; and Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of lupus nephritis. It also develops EQ101 completed phase 1/2 for treatment of cutaneous T cell lymphoma and alopecia areata; and EQ302 to treat gastrointestinal indications. In addition, it serves dermatology, gastroenterology, rheumatology, hematology, transplant science, oncology, and pulmonology area. The company was formerly known as Attenuate Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed its name to Equillium, Inc. in May 2017. Equillium, Inc. was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in La Jolla, California.
About Purple Biotech
Purple Biotech Ltd., a clinical-stage company, focuses on developing therapies to overcome tumor immune evasion and drug resistance for cancer patients in the United States. Its oncology pipeline includes CM24, a humanized monoclonal antibody that blocks the interactions of carcinoembryonic antigen related cell adhesion molecule 1 as a combination therapy with anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; NT219, a small molecule that targets and inhibits insulin receptor substrate 1 and 2, and signal transducer and activator of transcription, which is in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for the treatment recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck cancer or colorectal adenocarcinoma; and IM1240, a multi-valent antibody designed to activate anti-tumoral immune response against 5T4-positive tumors, which is in preclinical stage. The company has collaboration agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb Company to evaluate the combination of CM24 with the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab in addition to chemotherapy. The company was formerly known as Kitov Pharma Ltd and changed its name to Purple Biotech Ltd. in December 2020. The company is headquartered in Rehovot, Israel.
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