Analyzing Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) and NKGen Biotech (NYSE:NKGN)

NKGen Biotech (NYSE:NKGN) and Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

NKGen Biotech has a beta of 0.49, meaning that its stock price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alector has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares NKGen Biotech and Alector”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NKGen Biotech	$80,000.00	88.75	-$82.94 million	($5.08)	-0.05
Alector	$55.28 million	9.07	-$130.39 million	($1.38)	-3.77

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

Profitability

This table compares NKGen Biotech and Alector’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NKGen Biotech	N/A	N/A	-479.36%
Alector	-290.66%	-102.63%	-25.70%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for NKGen Biotech and Alector, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NKGen Biotech	0	0	0	0	N/A
Alector	0	0	5	0	3.00

Alector has a consensus target price of $17.75, indicating a potential upside of 241.35%. Given Alector’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Alector is more favorable than NKGen Biotech.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

76.2% of NKGen Biotech shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.8% of Alector shares are held by institutional investors. 20.0% of NKGen Biotech shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.1% of Alector shares are held 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

Alector beats NKGen Biotech on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NKGen Biotech

NKGen Biotech, Inc. operates as a clinical-stage biotechnology company that focuses on the development and commercialization of autologous, allogeneic, and CAR-NK natural killer cell therapies. It develops SNK01, an autologous NK cell therapy; and SNK02, an allogeneic NK cell therapy, which are in Phase 1 clinical trials. The company was founded in 2017 and is based in Santa Ana, California.

About Alector

Alector, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, develops therapies for the treatment of neurodegeneration diseases. Its products include AL001, an immune activity in the brain with genetic links to multiple neurodegenerative disorders, which is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis diseases; and AL101 that is in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. The company also offers AL002, a product candidate that is in Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Alector, Inc. has a collaboration agreement with Adimab, LLC for the research and development of antibodies; and a strategic collaboration agreement with GlaxoSmithKline plc for the development and commercialization of monoclonal antibodies, such as AL001 and AL101 to treat neurodegenerative diseases. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.