Design Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DSGN – Get Free Report) and Apellis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:APLS – Get Free Report) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.
Profitability
This table compares Design Therapeutics and Apellis Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Design Therapeutics | N/A | -18.48% | -17.76% |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals | -52.99% | -138.32% | -39.63% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Design Therapeutics and Apellis Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Design Therapeutics | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.33 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals | 0 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 2.80 |
Risk & Volatility
Design Therapeutics has a beta of 1.82, meaning that its stock price is 82% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Apellis Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
56.6% of Design Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.3% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 31.2% of Design Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.8% of Apellis Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Design Therapeutics and Apellis Pharmaceuticals”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Design Therapeutics | N/A | N/A | -$66.86 million | ($1.05) | -5.29 |
| Apellis Pharmaceuticals | $396.59 million | 11.15 | -$528.63 million | ($3.46) | -10.49 |
Design Therapeutics has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Apellis Pharmaceuticals. Apellis Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Design Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Design Therapeutics beats Apellis Pharmaceuticals on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Design Therapeutics
Design Therapeutics, Inc. a biopharmaceutical company, researches, designs, develops, and commercializes small molecule therapeutic drugs for the treatment of genetic diseases in the United States. The company utilizes its GeneTAC platform to design and develop therapeutic candidates for inherited diseases caused by nucleotide repeat expansion. Its lead product candidates for potentially disease-modifying treatment comprises Friedreich Ataxia, a monogenic, autosomal recessive, progressive multi-system disease that affects organ systems dependent on mitochondrial function that brings to neurological, cardiac, and metabolic dysfunction; Myotonic Dystrophy Type-1, a dominantly-inherited, monogenic progressive neuromuscular disease affecting skeletal muscle, heart, brain, and other organs; Fuchs Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy, a genetic eye disease characterized by bilateral degeneration of corneal endothelial cells and progressive loss of vision; and Huntington's Disease, a dominantly inherited, monogenic neurodegenerative disease characterized by movement, cognitive, and psychiatric disorders. Design Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in Carlsbad, California.
About Apellis Pharmaceuticals
Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutic compounds through the inhibition of the complement system for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. It offers EMPAVELI for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, C3 glomerulopathy and immune complex membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-associated thrombotic microangiopathy; and SYFOVRE for treating geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy (GA). The company also develops APL-3007, a small interfering RNA, or siRNA, which is in a Phase 1 clinical trial, as well as an oral complement inhibitor that is in preclinical development. It has a collaboration and license agreement with Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (publ) for development and commercialization of pegcetacoplan; and a collaboration with Beam Therapeutics Inc. focused on the use of Beam's base editing technology to discover new treatments for complement-driven diseases. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is based in Waltham, Massachusetts.
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