Critical Review: Autolus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AUTL) and Quince Therapeutics (NASDAQ:QNCX)

Autolus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AUTL) and Quince Therapeutics (NASDAQ:QNCX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Autolus Therapeutics	$1.70 million	704.22	-$208.38 million	($1.20)	-3.75
Quince Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$31.39 million	($0.76)	-0.93

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

72.8% of Autolus Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 30.8% of Quince Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 25.7% of Autolus Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 16.8% of Quince Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Autolus Therapeutics has a beta of 2.02, suggesting that its share price is 102% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Quince Therapeutics has a beta of 1.17, suggesting that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Autolus Therapeutics and Quince Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Autolus Therapeutics	N/A	-80.21%	-41.47%
Quince Therapeutics	N/A	-36.72%	-24.12%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Autolus Therapeutics and Quince Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Autolus Therapeutics	0	1	4	0	2.80
Quince Therapeutics	0	0	0	0	N/A

Autolus Therapeutics currently has a consensus price target of $8.70, suggesting a potential upside of 93.33%. Given Autolus Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Autolus Therapeutics is more favorable than Quince Therapeutics.

Summary

Autolus Therapeutics beats Quince Therapeutics on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Autolus Therapeutics

Autolus Therapeutics plc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops T cell therapies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. The company's clinical-stage programs include obecabtagene autoleucel (AUTO1), a CD19-targeting programmed T cell investigational therapy that is in Phase 1b/2 clinical trial for the treatment of adult ALL; AUTO1/22, which is in a Phase 1 clinical trial in pediatric patients with relapsed or refractory ALL; AUTO4, a programmed T cell investigational therapy for the treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma targeting TRBC1 and TRBC2; AUTO6NG, a programmed T cell investigational therapy targeting GD2 in development for the treatment of neuroblastoma; and AUTO8, a product candidate to treat multiple myeloma. It focuses on developing AUTO5, a preclinical TRBC2 programmed T cell product candidate for the treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma. Autolus Therapeutics plc was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About Quince Therapeutics

Quince Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on acquiring, developing, and commercializing therapeutics for patients with debilitating and rare diseases. The company's lead asset candidature comprises EryDex for the treatment of rare pediatric neurodegenerative disease, including A-T, an inherited autosomal recessive neurodegenerative and immunodeficiency disorder caused by mutations in ATM gene. Its AIDE technology platform, a drug/device combination platform that uses an automated process to encapsulate a drug into a patient's own red blood cells, as well as consists of an automated equipment the RCL, a sterile single-use consumable treatment kit comprising EryKit, Syringe Kit, drugs, and process solutions. The company was formerly known as Cortexyme, Inc. and changed its name to Quince Therapeutics, Inc. in August 2022. Quince Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.