Comparing Achilles Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACHL) & X4 Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XFOR)

Achilles Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ACHL) and X4 Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:XFOR) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Achilles Therapeutics and X4 Pharmaceuticals’ revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Achilles Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$69.67 million	($1.60)	-0.52
X4 Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	-$101.17 million	($0.70)	-1.23

X4 Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Achilles Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Achilles Therapeutics and X4 Pharmaceuticals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Achilles Therapeutics	1	1	1	0	2.00
X4 Pharmaceuticals	0	1	2	0	2.67

Achilles Therapeutics presently has a consensus target price of $4.00, suggesting a potential upside of 382.57%. X4 Pharmaceuticals has a consensus target price of $3.67, suggesting a potential upside of 325.37%. Given Achilles Therapeutics’ higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Achilles Therapeutics is more favorable than X4 Pharmaceuticals.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

56.4% of Achilles Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.0% of X4 Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of Achilles Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of X4 Pharmaceuticals shares are owned 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.

Profitability

This table compares Achilles Therapeutics and X4 Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Achilles Therapeutics	N/A	-42.95%	-37.88%
X4 Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-275.36%	-85.07%

Volatility & Risk

Achilles Therapeutics has a beta of 1.32, meaning that its share price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, X4 Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.35, meaning that its share price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Achilles Therapeutics beats X4 Pharmaceuticals on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Achilles Therapeutics

Achilles Therapeutics plc, a biopharmaceutical company, develops precision T cell therapies to treat solid tumors. Its platform identifies mutations formed early in the development of cancer. The company offers PELEUS, a proprietary AI-powered bioinformatics platform, used to identify clonal neoantigens in a patient. It also develops CHIRON, which is in Phase I/IIa clinical trial for use in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer; and THETIS, a product candidate in Phase I/IIa clinical trial for use in the treatment of metastatic or recurrent melanoma. The company was formerly known as Achilles TX Limited and changed its name to Achilles Therapeutics Plc in February 2021. Achilles Therapeutics Plc was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About X4 Pharmaceuticals

X4 Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the research, development, and commercialization of novel therapeutics for the treatment of rare diseases. Its lead product candidate is mavorixafor, a small molecule inhibitor of the chemokine receptor C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4), which is in Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of patients with warts, hypogammaglobulinemia, infections, and myelokathexis syndrome; and Phase II clinical trial to treat congenital, idiopathic, or cyclic neutropenia. The company is also developing X4P-003, a CXCR4 antagonist for the treatment of CXCR4 dependent disorders and primary immunodeficiencies; and X4P-002, a CXCR4 antagonist for the treatment of blood-brain barrier diseases. It has a license agreement with Abbisko Therapeutics Co Ltd. to develop, manufacture, and commercialize mavorixafor in combination with checkpoint inhibitors or other agents in oncology indications. The company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.