Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN – Get Free Report) and Compass Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CMPX – Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Agenus and Compass Therapeutics’ gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Agenus | $159.63 million | 0.65 | -$245.76 million | ($12.84) | -0.39 |
| Compass Therapeutics | $850,000.00 | 231.47 | -$42.49 million | ($0.36) | -3.97 |
Compass Therapeutics has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Agenus. Compass Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Agenus, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk & Volatility
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings for Agenus and Compass Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Agenus | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2.17 |
| Compass Therapeutics | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3.00 |
Agenus presently has a consensus price target of $10.50, suggesting a potential upside of 112.12%. Compass Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $9.00, suggesting a potential upside of 529.37%. Given Compass Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Compass Therapeutics is more favorable than Agenus.
Profitability
This table compares Agenus and Compass Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Agenus | -144.94% | N/A | -77.23% |
| Compass Therapeutics | N/A | -30.89% | -29.36% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
61.5% of Agenus shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.4% of Compass Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.6% of Agenus shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 30.0% of Compass Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Compass Therapeutics beats Agenus on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Agenus
Agenus Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, discovers and develops immuno-oncology products in the United States and internationally. The company offers Retrocyte Display, an antibody expression platform for the identification of fully human and humanized monoclonal antibodies; and display technologies. It develops QS-21 Stimulon adjuvant, a saponin-based vaccine adjuvant. The company also develops Balstilimab, an anti-PD-1 antagonist that has completed Phase II clinical trial to treat second line cervical cancer; AGEN1181, an antigen 4 (CTLA-4) blocking antibody that is in Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of pancreatic cancer and and melanoma; AGEN2373, a CD137 monospecific antibody that is in Phase 1b clinical trial; AGEN1423, a CD73/TGFß TRAP antibody; AGEN1571, an ILT2 monospecific antibody that is in Phase 1 clinical trial; and BMS-986442, a TIGIT bispecific antibodies. In addition, it develops INCAGN1876, a GITR agonist; INCAGN2390, a TIM-3 monospecific antibody; INCAGN2385, a LAG-3 monospecific antibody; MK-4830, a monospecific antibody targeting ILT4 that is in Phase 2 clinical trial; UGN-301, a zalifrelimab intravesical solution for the treatment of cancers of the urinary tract that is in a Phase 1 clinical trial; and AGEN1884, a first-generation anti-CTLA-4 monospecific antibody. The company operates under Agenus, MiNK, Prophage, Retrocyte Display, and Stimulon trademarks. It has collaborations with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Betta Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Incyte Corporation, Merck Sharpe & Dohme, and Gilead Sciences, Inc. The company was formerly known as Antigenics Inc. and changed its name to Agenus Inc. in January 2011. Agenus Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts.
About Compass Therapeutics
Compass Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company, engages in developing antibody-based therapeutics to treat various human diseases in the United States. The company's lead product candidates include CTX-009, a bispecific antibody that blocks Delta-like ligand 4 a ligand of Notch-1, and vascular endothelial growth factor A signaling pathways, which are critical to angiogenesis and tumor vascularization; and CTX-471, an IgG4 monoclonal antibody that is an agonist of CD137, a key co-stimulatory receptor on immune cells. It also develops CTX-8371, a bispecific inhibitor that targets PD-1 and PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor antibodies. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
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