Critical Contrast: AVROBIO (NASDAQ:AVRO) and Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM)

AVROBIO (NASDAQ:AVRO – Get Rating) and Beam Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BEAM – Get Rating) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares AVROBIO and Beam Therapeutics’ top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AVROBIO	N/A	N/A	-$119.13 million	($2.49)	-0.48
Beam Therapeutics	$60.92 million	39.48	-$289.09 million	($4.13)	-8.04

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

55.7% of AVROBIO shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.7% of Beam Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.4% of AVROBIO shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of Beam Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

AVROBIO has a beta of 1.64, indicating that its share price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Beam Therapeutics has a beta of 1.7, indicating that its share price is 70% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for AVROBIO and Beam Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AVROBIO	0	0	1	0	3.00
Beam Therapeutics	0	2	6	0	2.75

AVROBIO presently has a consensus target price of $4.00, indicating a potential upside of 236.13%. Beam Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $76.33, indicating a potential upside of 129.78%. Given AVROBIO’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe AVROBIO is more favorable than Beam Therapeutics.

Profitability

This table compares AVROBIO and Beam Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AVROBIO	N/A	-82.47%	-66.62%
Beam Therapeutics	-474.54%	-37.58%	-20.78%

About AVROBIO

(Get Rating)

Avrobio, Inc. engages in the development of lentiviral-based gene therapies. It focuses on developing potentially curative ex vivo lentiviral-based gene therapies to treat patients with rare diseases following a single dose treatment regimen. The firm’s clinical-stage programs include Fabry, Gaucher Type 1, Hunter syndrome Gaucher Type 3, Pompe, and Cystinosis. The company was founded by Geoff Mackay, Kim Warren, Christopher Mason, and Jeffrey Medin in 2015 and is headquartered in Cambridge, MA.

About Beam Therapeutics

(Get Rating)

Beam Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company, develops precision genetic medicines for patients suffering from serious diseases in the United States. The company is developing BEAM-101 for the treatment of sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia; BEAM-102 for the treatment of sickle cell disease; and BEAM-201, an allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor T cell for the treatment of relapsed/refractory T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia; and BEAM-301, a liver-targeted development candidate for the treatment of patients with Glycogen Storage Disease Type Ia. It also develops therapies for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency; ocular diseases; and other liver, muscle, and central nervous system disorders. The company has an alliance with Boston Children's Hospital; a research and clinical trial collaboration agreement with Magenta Therapeutics, Inc.; license agreement with Sana Biotechnology, Inc.; and a research collaboration with the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel. It also has a research collaboration agreement with Pfizer Inc. and Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; and collaboration and license agreement with Verve Therapeutics, Inc. The company was incorporated in 2017 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.