Reviewing AlloVir (NASDAQ:ALVR) and Turnstone Biologics (NASDAQ:TSBX)

AlloVir (NASDAQ:ALVR) and Turnstone Biologics (NASDAQ:TSBX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

66.1% of AlloVir shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.5% of Turnstone Biologics shares are owned by institutional investors. 32.1% of AlloVir shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 32.1% of Turnstone Biologics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for AlloVir and Turnstone Biologics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AlloVir	0	0	0	0	0.00
Turnstone Biologics	1	0	1	0	2.00

Turnstone Biologics has a consensus target price of $2.13, indicating a potential upside of 342.52%. Given Turnstone Biologics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Turnstone Biologics is more favorable than AlloVir.

Volatility and Risk

AlloVir has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Turnstone Biologics has a beta of 2.14, meaning that its stock price is 114% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares AlloVir and Turnstone Biologics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AlloVir	N/A	-71.03%	-61.27%
Turnstone Biologics	N/A	-105.99%	-87.27%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares AlloVir and Turnstone Biologics”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AlloVir	N/A	N/A	-$190.42 million	($0.88)	-0.50
Turnstone Biologics	$19.31 million	0.58	-$55.20 million	($3.24)	-0.15

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

Summary

Turnstone Biologics beats AlloVir on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AlloVir

Allovir, Inc., a clinical-stage cell therapy company, engages in the research and development of allogeneic, off-the-shelf multi-virus specific T cell (VST) therapies to prevent and treat devastating viral-associated diseases. The company's lead product is posoleucel, an allogeneic, off-the-shelf VST therapy, to treat BK virus, cytomegalovirus, adenovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, human herpesvirus 6, and JC virus. Its preclinical and clinical development product candidates include ALVR106 for the respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, parainfluenza virus, and human metapneumovirus; ALVR109 to treat SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19; ALVR107 for treating hepatitis B; and ALVR108. The company was formerly known as ViraCyte, Inc. and changed its name to Allovir, Inc. in May 2019. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is based in Waltham, Massachusetts.

About Turnstone Biologics

Turnstone Biologics Corp., a clinical stage biotechnology company, focuses on developing medicines to treat and cure patients with solid tumors. The company's lead product includes TIDAL-01 that is in Phase 1 clinical trials for the treatment of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, head and neck cancer and uveal melanoma, as well as an investigator sponsored trials to treat colorectal cancer, head and neck cancer, and cutaneous and non-cutaneous melanomas. It is also developing TIDAL-02, which is in preclinical development for the treatment of solid tumors. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in LA Jolla, California.