Contrasting Dynavax Technologies (NASDAQ:DVAX) and PDS Biotechnology (NASDAQ:PDSB)

Dynavax Technologies (NASDAQ:DVAX) and PDS Biotechnology (NASDAQ:PDSB) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Dynavax Technologies and PDS Biotechnology, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dynavax Technologies	0	1	3	0	2.75
PDS Biotechnology	0	0	4	1	3.20

Dynavax Technologies currently has a consensus target price of $23.67, indicating a potential upside of 115.54%. PDS Biotechnology has a consensus target price of $14.25, indicating a potential upside of 356.73%. Given PDS Biotechnology’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe PDS Biotechnology is more favorable than Dynavax Technologies.

Volatility & Risk

Dynavax Technologies has a beta of 1.37, suggesting that its stock price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PDS Biotechnology has a beta of 1.9, suggesting that its stock price is 90% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Dynavax Technologies and PDS Biotechnology”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dynavax Technologies	$249.69 million	5.76	-$6.39 million	$0.06	183.00
PDS Biotechnology	N/A	N/A	-$42.94 million	($1.36)	-2.29

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

Profitability

This table compares Dynavax Technologies and PDS Biotechnology’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dynavax Technologies	6.88%	2.76%	1.73%
PDS Biotechnology	N/A	-137.06%	-66.12%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.0% of Dynavax Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.8% of PDS Biotechnology shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.0% of Dynavax Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.0% of PDS Biotechnology shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Dynavax Technologies beats PDS Biotechnology on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Dynavax Technologies

Dynavax Technologies Corporation, a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing vaccines in the United States. It markets HEPLISAV-B, a hepatitis B vaccine for prevention of infection caused by all known subtypes of hepatitis B virus in age 18 years and older in the United States and Europe. The company also manufactures and sells CpG 1018, the adjuvant used in HEPLISAV-B. Dynavax Technologies Corporation has a collaboration agreement with Valneva Scotland Limited; Zhejiang Clover Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.; Clover Biopharmaceuticals (Hong Kong) Co., Limited; Biological E. Limited; PT Bio Farma; Medigen Vaccine Biologics; and Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd. The company was formerly known as Double Helix Corporation and changed its name to Dynavax Technologies Corporation in September 1996. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Emeryville, California.

About PDS Biotechnology

PDS Biotechnology Corporation, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, developing a pipeline of targeted cancer immunotherapies in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is PDS0101 (HPV16), which is in Phase II clinical trial provides a first line treatment for the recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancer, and human papillomavirus associated malignancies. It also develops various product candidates, which are in preclinical trials, including PDS0102, an investigational immunotherapy utilizing tumor-associated and immunologically active T cell receptor gamma alternate reading framed protein (TARP) for treating prostate and breast cancers; and PDS0103 for ovarian, colorectal, lung, and breast cancers. In addition, the company is developing PDS01ADC, a novel investigational Interleukin 12 fused antibody-drug conjugate that enhances the proliferation, potency, and longevity of T cells in the tumor microenvironment; and PDS0104, a novel investigational Tyrosinase-related Protein 2 targeted immunotherapy that stimulates a potent targeted T cell attack against melanoma. Further, the company provides PDS0202, a novel investigational influenza vaccine that generates broad and robust antibody and T cell responses that provide protection against continually evolving strains of seasonal flu and potentially emerging pandemic flu. It has a license and collaboration agreements with National Institutes of Health, Merck Eprova AG, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and MSD International GmbH. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in Princeton, New Jersey.