Exicure (NASDAQ:XCUR) vs. Galecto (NASDAQ:GLTO) Head-To-Head Comparison

Galecto (NASDAQ:GLTO) and Exicure (NASDAQ:XCUR) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Galecto and Exicure’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Galecto	N/A	-147.05%	-111.33%
Exicure	N/A	-177.55%	-86.42%

Risk & Volatility

Galecto has a beta of 1.42, suggesting that its stock price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Exicure has a beta of 4.06, suggesting that its stock price is 306% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

14.2% of Galecto shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.8% of Exicure shares are held by institutional investors. 10.5% of Galecto shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 52.8% of Exicure shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Galecto and Exicure”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Galecto	N/A	N/A	-$21.44 million	($12.10)	-2.13
Exicure	$500,000.00	78.48	-$9.70 million	($3.70)	-1.66

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Galecto and Exicure, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Galecto	1	1	1	1	2.50
Exicure	1	0	0	0	1.00

Galecto presently has a consensus price target of $41.00, indicating a potential upside of 59.16%. Given Galecto’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Galecto is more favorable than Exicure.

Summary

Exicure beats Galecto on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Galecto

Galecto, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops molecules for the treatment of fibrosis, cancer, inflammation, and other related diseases. The company's lead product candidate is GB2064, which is in Phase IIa for the treatment of myelofibrosis. It also develops GB2064, a selective oral small molecule inhibitor of LOXL2 that is in Phase 2a clinical trial for the treatment of fibrotic diseases, including cancer and myelofibrosis; and GB1211, a selective oral galectin-3 inhibitor that is in Phase IIa for the treatment of cancer, as well as in Phase Ib/IIa for fibrosis. Galecto, Inc. was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark.

About Exicure

Exicure, Inc., an early-stage biotechnology company, develops nucleic acid therapies targeting ribonucleic acid against validated targets. The company's preclinical candidate includes SCN9A that is in preclinical studies for the treatment of chronic pain. It also develops immuno-oncology therapeutics based on its proprietary SNA technology. Exicure, Inc. was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.