Critical Survey: Pluri (NASDAQ:PLUR) versus Evaxion Biotech A/S (NASDAQ:EVAX)

Evaxion Biotech A/S (NASDAQ:EVAX) and Pluri (NASDAQ:PLUR) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Evaxion Biotech A/S and Pluri, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Evaxion Biotech A/S	0	0	2	0	3.00
Pluri	0	0	0	0	0.00

Evaxion Biotech A/S currently has a consensus target price of $11.00, indicating a potential upside of 1,108.79%. Given Evaxion Biotech A/S’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Evaxion Biotech A/S is more favorable than Pluri.

Risk and Volatility

Evaxion Biotech A/S has a beta of -0.39, meaning that its share price is 139% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pluri has a beta of 1.64, meaning that its share price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Evaxion Biotech A/S and Pluri’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Evaxion Biotech A/S	-347.83%	N/A	-79.40%
Pluri	-4,184.28%	-917.18%	-82.85%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

11.0% of Evaxion Biotech A/S shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.6% of Pluri shares are held by institutional investors. 41.6% of Evaxion Biotech A/S shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 10.2% of Pluri shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Evaxion Biotech A/S and Pluri”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Evaxion Biotech A/S	$3.30 million	1.62	-$22.12 million	($0.29)	-3.14
Pluri	$598,000.00	40.25	-$20.89 million	($6.03)	-0.72

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

Summary

Evaxion Biotech A/S beats Pluri on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Evaxion Biotech A/S

Evaxion Biotech A/S, a clinical-stage biotech company, engages in developing artificial intelligence-powered immunotherapies. The company develops EVX-01, which is in phase 2 global multi-center clinical trial for the treatment of metastatic melanoma; EVX-02, a DNA-based vaccine that is in Phase 1/2a trial designed to induce a therapeutic immune response in the adjuvant setting in patients with resected melanoma; and EVX-03, DNA-based cancer vaccine for the treatment of various cancers. Its programs also include some vaccines that are in pre-clinical stage, which includes EVX-B1 for the prevention of S. aureus-induced skin and soft tissue infections in patients undergoing elective abdominal hernia surgery; EVX-B2 to target diseases caused by N. gonorrhoeae; EVX-B3 for eliciting strong humoral antibody and cellular immune response to the bacterial pathogen; and EVX-V1, viral vaccine product candidate for targeting Cytomegalovirus. Evaxion Biotech A/S was incorporated in 2008 and is based in Horsholm, Denmark.

About Pluri

Pluri Inc., a biotechnology company, engages in the development of placenta-based cell therapy product candidates for the treatment of inflammatory, muscle injuries, and hematologic conditions. It operates in the field of regenerative medicine, food-tech, and biologics and focuses on establishing partnerships that leverage its 3D cell-based technology to additional industries that require mass cell production. The company's development pipeline includes PLX-PAD, is composed of maternal mesenchymal stromal cells originating from the placenta that is currently under phase III study for orthopedic, phase II study for COVID-19, and phase I/II clinical study for Steroid-Refractory cGVHD indications; and PLX-R18, is composed of fetal MSC like cells originating from the placenta that is currently under phase I study for HCT and pilot study for ARS indications. It is also involved in the development of modified PLX cells. The company was formerly known as Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. and changed its name to Pluri Inc. in July 2022. Pluri Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is based in Haifa, Israel.