Reviewing Aethlon Medical (NASDAQ:AEMD) and Co-Diagnostics (NASDAQ:CODX)

Co-Diagnostics (NASDAQ:CODX) and Aethlon Medical (NASDAQ:AEMD) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

15.0% of Co-Diagnostics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.0% of Aethlon Medical shares are held by institutional investors. 6.1% of Co-Diagnostics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Aethlon Medical shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Co-Diagnostics and Aethlon Medical”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Co-Diagnostics	$7.32 million	3.18	-$35.33 million	($1.38)	-0.53
Aethlon Medical	$570,000.00	14.83	-$12.21 million	($2.82)	-0.21

Aethlon Medical has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Co-Diagnostics. Co-Diagnostics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Aethlon Medical, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Co-Diagnostics has a beta of -0.9, meaning that its share price is 190% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aethlon Medical has a beta of 1.79, meaning that its share price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Co-Diagnostics and Aethlon Medical, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Co-Diagnostics	0	1	0	0	2.00
Aethlon Medical	0	0	1	0	3.00

Co-Diagnostics currently has a consensus price target of $1.50, suggesting a potential upside of 105.48%. Aethlon Medical has a consensus price target of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1,055.88%. Given Aethlon Medical’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Aethlon Medical is more favorable than Co-Diagnostics.

Profitability

This table compares Co-Diagnostics and Aethlon Medical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Co-Diagnostics	-563.93%	-54.94%	-49.28%
Aethlon Medical	N/A	-160.36%	-115.74%

Summary

Aethlon Medical beats Co-Diagnostics on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Co-Diagnostics

Co-Diagnostics, Inc., a molecular diagnostics company, develops, manufactures, and sells reagents used for diagnostic tests that function through the detection and/or analysis of nucleic acid molecules in the United States and internationally. The company offers Co-Dx PCR platform, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing to patients in point-of-care and at-home setting. It also provides PCR diagnostic tests for COVID-19, influenza, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, human papillomavirus, malaria, chikungunya, dengue, and the zika virus. In addition, the company offers three multiplexed tests to test mosquitos for the identification of diseases carried by the mosquitos; molecular tools for detection of infectious diseases, liquid biopsy for cancer screening, and agricultural applications; tests that identify genetic traits in plant and animal genomes; and portable diagnostic device designed to bring PCR to patients in point-of-care and at-home settings. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

About Aethlon Medical

Aethlon Medical, Inc., a medical therapeutic company, focuses on developing products to treat cancer and life-threatening infectious diseases in the United States. It develops Hemopurifier, a clinical-stage immunotherapeutic device that removes tumor-derived exosomes and life-threatening viruses and use in organ transplantation. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is based in San Diego, California.