Analyzing Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) and CervoMed (NASDAQ:CRVO)

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) and CervoMed (NASDAQ:CRVO) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Risk and Volatility

Illumina has a beta of 1.45, meaning that its share price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CervoMed has a beta of -0.77, meaning that its share price is 177% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

89.4% of Illumina shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 25.2% of CervoMed shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.6% of Illumina shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 35.4% of CervoMed shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Illumina and CervoMed’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Illumina	19.57%	31.04%	12.04%
CervoMed	-672.80%	-96.04%	-82.88%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Illumina and CervoMed”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Illumina	$4.34 billion	4.33	$850.00 million	$5.45	22.56
CervoMed	$4.01 million	9.79	-$26.97 million	($2.98)	-1.42

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Illumina and CervoMed, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Illumina	2	10	6	0	2.22
CervoMed	1	1	6	1	2.78

Illumina presently has a consensus target price of $129.69, suggesting a potential upside of 5.48%. CervoMed has a consensus target price of $23.00, suggesting a potential upside of 442.45%. Given CervoMed’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe CervoMed is more favorable than Illumina.

Summary

Illumina beats CervoMed on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Illumina

Illumina, Inc. offers sequencing- and array-based solutions for genetic and genomic analysis in the United States, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through Core Illumina and GRAIL segments. The company offers sequencing and array-based instruments and consumables, which include reagents, flow cells, and library preparation; whole-genome sequencing kits, which sequence entire genomes of various size and complexity; and targeted resequencing kits, which sequence exomes, specific genes, and RNA or other genomic regions of interest. It also provides whole-genome sequencing, genotyping, noninvasive prenatal testing, and product support services; and Galleri, a multi-cancer early detection test. In addition, the company is developing solutions to help accelerate cancer diagnoses, blood-based detection for minimal residual disease, and other post-diagnostic applications. The company serves genomic research centers, academic institutions, government laboratories, and hospitals, as well as pharmaceutical, biotechnology, commercial molecular diagnostic laboratories, and consumer genomics companies. It markets and distributes its products directly to customers, as well as through life-science distributors. Illumina, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is based in San Diego, California.

About CervoMed

CervoMed Inc., a biotechnology company, engages in the development and commercialization of treatments for age-related neurologic disorders. Its lead drug candidate is neflamapimod, an orally administered small molecule brain penetrant for the treatment of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), Alzheimer's diseases, frontotemporal dementia, and ischemic stroke recovery. The company also develops EIP200 for central nervous system which is in preclinical trials. CervoMed Inc. was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.