Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) vs. Autolus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AUTL) Head-To-Head Analysis

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

Profitability

This table compares Anavex Life Sciences and Autolus Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Anavex Life Sciences	N/A	-30.64%	-28.23%
Autolus Therapeutics	N/A	-63.65%	-36.54%

Risk and Volatility

Anavex Life Sciences has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Autolus Therapeutics has a beta of 1.99, meaning that its stock price is 99% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Anavex Life Sciences and Autolus Therapeutics”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Anavex Life Sciences	N/A	N/A	-$47.51 million	($0.50)	-25.12
Autolus Therapeutics	$10.09 million	60.65	-$208.38 million	($1.21)	-1.90

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

31.5% of Anavex Life Sciences shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.8% of Autolus Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.0% of Anavex Life Sciences shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 25.7% of Autolus Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Anavex Life Sciences and Autolus Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Anavex Life Sciences	0	0	2	1	3.33
Autolus Therapeutics	0	0	5	0	3.00

Anavex Life Sciences currently has a consensus price target of $44.00, indicating a potential upside of 250.32%. Autolus Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $10.40, indicating a potential upside of 352.17%. Given Autolus Therapeutics’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Autolus Therapeutics is more favorable than Anavex Life Sciences.

Summary

Autolus Therapeutics beats Anavex Life Sciences on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Anavex Life Sciences

Anavex Life Sciences Corp., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of therapeutics for the treatment of central nervous system diseases. Its lead product candidate is ANAVEX 2-73 for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, as well as other central nervous system diseases, including rare diseases, such as Rett syndrome, a rare severe neurological monogenic disorder; and infantile spasms, Fragile X syndrome, and Angelman syndrome. The company's drug candidate also comprises ANAVEX 3-71, which is in clinical trial for the treatment of schizophrenia, frontotemporal dementia, and Alzheimer's disease. Its preclinical drug candidates include ANAVEX 1-41 for the treatment of depression, stroke, and neurogenerative disease; ANAVEX 1066 for the potential treatment of neuropathic and visceral pain; and ANAVEX 1037 to treat prostate and pancreatic cancer. The company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

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.