Head-To-Head Review: Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT) & Zymeworks (NYSE:ZYME)

Zymeworks (NYSE:ZYME) and Altimmune (NASDAQ:ALT) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Zymeworks and Altimmune, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zymeworks	0	1	2	0	2.67
Altimmune	0	2	4	0	2.67

Zymeworks presently has a consensus target price of $12.67, indicating a potential upside of 48.84%. Altimmune has a consensus target price of $18.80, indicating a potential upside of 182.71%. Given Altimmune’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Altimmune is more favorable than Zymeworks.

Profitability

This table compares Zymeworks and Altimmune’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zymeworks	-249.63%	-28.37%	-21.98%
Altimmune	-22,645.37%	-46.96%	-42.96%

Risk and Volatility

Zymeworks has a beta of 1.18, indicating that its share price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Altimmune has a beta of 0.11, indicating that its share price is 89% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Zymeworks and Altimmune’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zymeworks	$76.01 million	7.92	-$118.67 million	($1.79)	-4.75
Altimmune	$430,000.00	1,096.48	-$88.45 million	($1.59)	-4.18

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

92.9% of Zymeworks shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.1% of Altimmune shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of Zymeworks shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.1% of Altimmune 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.

Summary

Altimmune beats Zymeworks on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Zymeworks

Zymeworks Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes biotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer. The company's lead product candidates include zanidatamab, a human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) that is in Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 clinical trials, including certain ongoing pivotal clinical trials; and zanidatamab zovodotin, a HER2 -targeted antibody-drug conjugate that is in Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of advanced or metastatic HER2-expressing tumors. It also develops a pipeline of preclinical product candidates and discovery-stage programs in oncology, including immuno-oncology agents and other therapeutic areas. Zymeworks Inc. has strategic partnerships and collaborations with BeiGene, Ltd.; Celgene Corporation; Celgene Alpine Investment Co. LLC; GlaxoSmithKline Intellectual Property Development Limited; Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.; Janssen Biotech, Inc.; LEO Pharma A/S; Iconic Therapeutics, Inc.; Merck Sharp & Dohme Research GmbH; and Atreca, Inc. Zymeworks Inc. was incorporated in 2003 and is based in Middletown, Delaware.

About Altimmune

Altimmune, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing treatments for obesity and liver diseases. The company's lead product candidate, pemvidutide, a GLP-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist that is in Phase 2 trial for the treatment of obesity and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis. It is also developing HepTcell, an immunotherapeutic product candidate, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial for patients chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus. The company was formerly known as Vaxin Inc. and changed its name to Altimmune, Inc. in September 2015. Altimmune, Inc. was founded in 1997 is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.