Critical Comparison: HilleVax (NASDAQ:HLVX) and Zura Bio (NASDAQ:ZURA)

Zura Bio (NASDAQ:ZURA) and HilleVax (NASDAQ:HLVX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, risk, dividends and earnings.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Zura Bio and HilleVax”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zura Bio	N/A	N/A	-$69.24 million	N/A	N/A
HilleVax	N/A	N/A	-$123.57 million	($3.10)	-0.66

Institutional and Insider Ownership

61.1% of Zura Bio shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.4% of HilleVax shares are owned by institutional investors. 22.1% of Zura Bio shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 71.1% of HilleVax shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Zura Bio and HilleVax’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zura Bio	N/A	-37.36%	-29.81%
HilleVax	N/A	-67.27%	-51.99%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Zura Bio and HilleVax, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zura Bio	0	1	5	1	3.00
HilleVax	0	6	0	0	2.00

Zura Bio presently has a consensus target price of $15.80, suggesting a potential upside of 631.48%. HilleVax has a consensus target price of $3.00, suggesting a potential upside of 46.34%. Given Zura Bio’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Zura Bio is more favorable than HilleVax.

Risk & Volatility

Zura Bio has a beta of 0.04, suggesting that its stock price is 96% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HilleVax has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Zura Bio beats HilleVax on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Zura Bio

Zura Bio Limited, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on developing novel medicines for immune and inflammatory disorders. It develops Tibulizumab, an IgG-scFv bispecific dual-antagonist antibody engineered by the fusion of ixekizumab and tabalumab that neutralizes IL-17A and BAFF, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial development; ZB-168, a monoclonal antibody that binds and neutralizes the IL-7 receptor chain that impact on diseases driven by IL7 and thymic stromal lymphopoietin immune pathways; and Torudokimab, a monoclonal antibody that neutralizes IL33, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial development. The company is based in Henderson, Nevada.

About HilleVax

HilleVax, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing novel vaccines in the United States. It develops HIL-214, a virus-like particle-based vaccine candidate for the prevention of moderate-to-severe acute gastroenteritis caused by norovirus infection. The company was formerly known as MokshaCo, Inc. and changed its name to HilleVax, Inc. in February 2021. HilleVax, Inc. was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.