Reviewing HCW Biologics (NASDAQ:HCWB) and Rallybio (NASDAQ:RLYB)

HCW Biologics (NASDAQ:HCWB) and Rallybio (NASDAQ:RLYB) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares HCW Biologics and Rallybio”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
HCW Biologics	$3.92 million	4.34	-$24.99 million	($0.76)	-0.59
Rallybio	N/A	N/A	-$74.56 million	($1.88)	-0.59

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

Profitability

This table compares HCW Biologics and Rallybio’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HCW Biologics	-978.03%	-385.90%	-126.44%
Rallybio	N/A	-74.08%	-67.07%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

3.0% of HCW Biologics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.3% of Rallybio shares are owned by institutional investors. 49.9% of HCW Biologics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 7.4% of Rallybio 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.

Risk & Volatility

HCW Biologics has a beta of 0.8, indicating that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rallybio has a beta of -1.7, indicating that its stock price is 270% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for HCW Biologics and Rallybio, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
HCW Biologics	0	0	0	0	N/A
Rallybio	0	2	4	0	2.67

Rallybio has a consensus target price of $10.00, indicating a potential upside of 800.90%. Given Rallybio’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Rallybio is more favorable than HCW Biologics.

Summary

Rallybio beats HCW Biologics on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About HCW Biologics

HCW Biologics Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing novel immunotherapies for chronic, low-grade inflammation, and age-related diseases in the United States. The company's lead products include HCW9218, which is in Phase 1 clinical chemo-refractory/chemo-resistant solid tumors with pancreatic, ovarian, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers, as well as Phase 2 clinical trial with metastatic advanced stage ovarian cancer patients; and HCW9302 for autoimmune and proinflammatory diseases, such as alopecia areata diseases. It also develops HCW9201, a cell-based therapy that is in Phase I clinical trials for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory acute myelogenous leukemia; and HCW9206, an injectable immunotherapeutic to use as adjuvant for adoptive cell therapy in cancer treatment. HCW Biologics Inc. was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Miramar, Florida.

About Rallybio

Rallybio Corporation, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in development and commercialization of life-transforming therapies for patients suffering from severe and rare diseases. Its lead product candidate is RLYB212, a monoclonal anti-HPA-1a antibody that has completed Phase I clinical trial for the prevention of fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT); and RLYB211 for the prevention of FNAIT. The company is also developing RLYB114, a pegylated complement factor 5 (C5)-targeted Affibody molecule in preclinical development for the treatment of complement-mediated ophthalmic diseases; RLYB116, an inhibitor of complement component 5 (C5) to treat several diseases of complement dysregulation which has completed phase 1 trial; and RLYB331, a preclinical antibody, for the treatment of severe anemia with ineffective erythropoiesis and iron overload. It entered into a strategic alliance with AbCellera to discover, develop, and commercialize novel antibody-based therapeutics for rare diseases. Rallybio has collaboration with Exscientia for the development of small molecule therapeutics for rare diseases; and collaboration agreement with Johnson & Johnson to provide pregnant individuals therapeutic solutions at risk of fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia. The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut.