Head to Head Review: Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) versus BioAtla (NASDAQ:BCAB)

BioAtla (NASDAQ:BCAB) and Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends and risk.

Profitability

This table compares BioAtla and Novavax’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BioAtla	N/A	-187.30%	-96.33%
Novavax	-32.18%	N/A	-17.05%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares BioAtla and Novavax”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BioAtla	$11.00 million	2.55	-$123.46 million	($1.44)	-0.33
Novavax	$682.16 million	1.43	-$545.06 million	($1.33)	-4.56

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for BioAtla and Novavax, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BioAtla	0	1	1	0	2.50
Novavax	1	2	4	0	2.43

BioAtla currently has a consensus price target of $6.00, indicating a potential upside of 1,150.00%. Novavax has a consensus price target of $18.00, indicating a potential upside of 196.54%. Given BioAtla’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe BioAtla is more favorable than Novavax.

Risk & Volatility

BioAtla has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Novavax has a beta of 3.21, indicating that its stock price is 221% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

77.2% of BioAtla shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 53.0% of Novavax shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.5% of BioAtla shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Novavax shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

BioAtla beats Novavax on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BioAtla

BioAtla, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops specific and selective antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of solid tumor cancer. The company's lead clinical stage product candidates include mecbotamab vedotin (BA3011), a conditionally active biologic (CAB) antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), which is in Phase II clinical trial for treating undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); and ozuriftabmab vedotin (BA3021), a CAB ADC that is in Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of melanoma and squamous cell cancer of the head and neck. It is also developing Evalstotug (BA3071), a CAB anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 antibody, which is in Phase II clinical trial for treating melanoma, carcinomas, and NSCLC; and BA3182, a bispecific candidate that is in Phase 1 study for the treatment of adenocarcinomas, as well as BA3361, which is in preclinical studies for treating multiple tumor types. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About Novavax

Novavax, Inc., a biotechnology company, that promotes improved health by discovering, developing, and commercializing vaccines to protect against serious infectious diseases. It offers vaccine platform that combines a recombinant protein approach, nanoparticle technology, and its patented Matrix-M adjuvant to enhance the immune response. It focuses on urgent health challenges, which is evaluating vaccines for COVID-19, influenza, and COVID-19 influenza combination. The company is commercializing a COVID-19 vaccine, NVX-CoV2373 under the brand names of Nuvaxovid, Covovax, and Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, adjuvanted for adult and adolescent populations as a primary series and for both homologous and heterologous booster indications. It is also developing R21/Matrix-M adjuvant malaria vaccine. Novavax, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.