Critical Comparison: Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) and Genocea Biosciences (NASDAQ:GNCAQ)

Genocea Biosciences (NASDAQ:GNCAQ) and Atara Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ATRA) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Genocea Biosciences and Atara Biotherapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Genocea Biosciences	N/A	N/A	N/A
Atara Biotherapeutics	-132.58%	N/A	-90.16%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

70.9% of Atara Biotherapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of Genocea Biosciences shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Atara Biotherapeutics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Genocea Biosciences and Atara Biotherapeutics”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Genocea Biosciences	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Atara Biotherapeutics	$128.94 million	0.30	-$276.13 million	($12.97)	-0.51

Genocea Biosciences has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Atara Biotherapeutics.

Risk and Volatility

Genocea Biosciences has a beta of 1.74, meaning that its share price is 74% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Atara Biotherapeutics has a beta of 0.49, meaning that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Genocea Biosciences and Atara Biotherapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Genocea Biosciences	0	0	0	0	0.00
Atara Biotherapeutics	1	2	3	1	2.57

Atara Biotherapeutics has a consensus target price of $17.75, indicating a potential upside of 168.13%. Given Atara Biotherapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Atara Biotherapeutics is more favorable than Genocea Biosciences.

Summary

Atara Biotherapeutics beats Genocea Biosciences on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Genocea Biosciences

Genocea Biosciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, discovers and develops novel cancer immunotherapies. The company uses its proprietary discovery platform, ATLAS, which profiles each patient's CD4+ and CD8+ T cell immune responses to every target or antigen identified by next-generation sequencing of that patient's tumor. Its products include GEN-011, an adoptive T cell therapy, which is in Phase 1/2a clinical trials for the treatment of solid tumors; and GEN-009, a neoantigen vaccine candidate, which is in Phase 1/2a clinical trials that delivers adjuvanted synthetic long peptides spanning ATLAS-identified anti-tumor neoantigens. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. On July 5, 2022, Genocea Biosciences, Inc. filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts. The plan was later approved as Chapter 11 liquidation on May 11, 2023.

About Atara Biotherapeutics

Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. engages in the development of transformative therapies for patients with solid tumors, hematologic cancers, and autoimmune diseases in the United States and the United Kingdom. Its lead product includes Tab-cel (tabelecleucel), a T-cell immunotherapy program that is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of epstein-barr virus (EBV) driven post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease, as well as nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Its CAR T immunotherapy pipeline products include ATA3219, currently in Phase 1 trials, as well as ATA3431, under preclinical trials for the treatment of B-cell malignancies and autoimmune diseases; and ATA188 that is in Phase 2 clinical trials to treat multiple sclerosis. The company has research collaboration agreements with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Council of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research. Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California.