Critical Comparison: NKGen Biotech (NYSE:NKGN) versus Alpha Cognition (OTC:ACOGF)

NKGen Biotech (NYSE:NKGN) and Alpha Cognition (OTC:ACOGF) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Volatility & Risk

NKGen Biotech has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alpha Cognition has a beta of 2.8, suggesting that its stock price is 180% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares NKGen Biotech and Alpha Cognition’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NKGen Biotech	N/A	N/A	-479.36%
Alpha Cognition	N/A	N/A	-522.43%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

76.2% of NKGen Biotech shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.4% of NKGen Biotech shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 31.5% of Alpha Cognition shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for NKGen Biotech and Alpha Cognition, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NKGen Biotech	0	0	0	0	0.00
Alpha Cognition	0	0	2	0	3.00

Given Alpha Cognition’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Alpha Cognition is more favorable than NKGen Biotech.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares NKGen Biotech and Alpha Cognition”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NKGen Biotech	N/A	N/A	-$82.94 million	($1.72)	-0.02
Alpha Cognition	N/A	N/A	-$13.77 million	C($0.12)	N/A

NKGen Biotech is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alpha Cognition, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Alpha Cognition beats NKGen Biotech on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NKGen Biotech

NKGen Biotech, Inc. operates as a clinical-stage biotechnology company that focuses on the development and commercialization of autologous, allogeneic, and CAR-NK natural killer cell therapies. It develops SNK01, an autologous NK cell therapy; and SNK02, an allogeneic NK cell therapy, which are in Phase 1 clinical trials. The company was founded in 2017 and is based in Santa Ana, California.

About Alpha Cognition

Alpha Cognition Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, develops treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It develops ALPHA-1062 for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease and mild traumatic brain injury; ALPHA-0602, a gene therapy for the treatment of ALS; and ALPHA-0702 and ALPHA-0802, a granulin epithelin motifs for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The company was formerly known as Crystal Bridge Enterprises Inc. and changed its name to Alpha Cognition Inc. in March 2021. Alpha Cognition Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.