Analyzing Vaxart (NASDAQ:VXRT) and Quince Therapeutics (NASDAQ:QNCX)

Quince Therapeutics (NASDAQ:QNCX) and Vaxart (NASDAQ:VXRT) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

Quince Therapeutics has a beta of 0.71, suggesting that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vaxart has a beta of 1.69, suggesting that its share price is 69% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

30.8% of Quince Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.0% of Vaxart shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.8% of Quince Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Vaxart shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Quince Therapeutics and Vaxart’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Quince Therapeutics	N/A	-53.27%	-22.73%
Vaxart	-431.61%	-110.46%	-62.78%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Quince Therapeutics and Vaxart”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Quince Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$31.39 million	($1.24)	-1.16
Vaxart	$20.14 million	6.09	-$82.46 million	($0.41)	-1.31

Quince Therapeutics has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Vaxart. Vaxart is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Quince Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Quince Therapeutics and Vaxart, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Quince Therapeutics	0	0	4	2	3.33
Vaxart	0	0	1	0	3.00

Quince Therapeutics currently has a consensus target price of $9.50, indicating a potential upside of 559.72%. Vaxart has a consensus target price of $4.00, indicating a potential upside of 641.98%. Given Vaxart’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Vaxart is more favorable than Quince Therapeutics.

Summary

Quince Therapeutics beats Vaxart on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Quince Therapeutics

Quince Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on acquiring, developing, and commercializing therapeutics for patients with debilitating and rare diseases. The company's lead asset candidature comprises EryDex for the treatment of rare pediatric neurodegenerative disease, including A-T, an inherited autosomal recessive neurodegenerative and immunodeficiency disorder caused by mutations in ATM gene. Its AIDE technology platform, a drug/device combination platform that uses an automated process to encapsulate a drug into a patient's own red blood cells, as well as consists of an automated equipment the RCL, a sterile single-use consumable treatment kit comprising EryKit, Syringe Kit, drugs, and process solutions. The company was formerly known as Cortexyme, Inc. and changed its name to Quince Therapeutics, Inc. in August 2022. Quince Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.

About Vaxart

Vaxart, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, discovers and develops oral recombinant protein vaccines based on its proprietary oral vaccine platform. The company’s product pipeline includes norovirus vaccine, a bivalent oral tablet vaccine in Phase 2 clinical trial for the GI.1 and GII.4 norovirus strains; coronavirus vaccine, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial, for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection; seasonal influenza vaccine, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial, to treat H1 influenza infection; and human papillomavirus therapeutic vaccine, which is in preclinical stage, that targets HPV-16 and HPV-18 for cervical cancers and precancerous cervical lesions. It has a license agreement with Altesa Biosciences, Inc. to develop and commercialize Vapendavir, a capsid-binding broad-spectrum antiviral. Vaxart, Inc. is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.