Prelude Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PRLD – Get Free Report) and Agile Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AGRX – Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.
Risk and Volatility
Prelude Therapeutics has a beta of 1.56, meaning that its share price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Agile Therapeutics has a beta of 1.23, meaning that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Prelude Therapeutics and Agile Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Prelude Therapeutics | N/A | -52.97% | -47.20% |
| Agile Therapeutics | -36.24% | N/A | -147.37% |
Valuation and Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Prelude Therapeutics | N/A | N/A | -$121.83 million | ($1.88) | -2.03 |
| Agile Therapeutics | $19.59 million | 0.50 | -$14.47 million | ($3.65) | -0.39 |
Agile Therapeutics has higher revenue and earnings than Prelude Therapeutics. Prelude Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Agile Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
79.7% of Prelude Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.9% of Agile Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 62.8% of Prelude Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Agile Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings for Prelude Therapeutics and Agile Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Prelude Therapeutics | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.33 |
| Agile Therapeutics | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Prelude Therapeutics presently has a consensus target price of $4.75, suggesting a potential upside of 24.67%. Agile Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $5.00, suggesting a potential upside of 253.61%. Given Agile Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Agile Therapeutics is more favorable than Prelude Therapeutics.
Summary
Prelude Therapeutics beats Agile Therapeutics on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Prelude Therapeutics
Prelude Therapeutics Incorporated, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery and development of novel precision cancer medicines to underserved patients. It is developing PRT1419, a myeloid cell leukemia-1 inhibitor, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of selected relapsed/refractory myeloid or B-cell malignancies; PRT2527, a cyclin-dependent kinase, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of advanced solid tumors; PRT3645, a cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of advanced and metastatic solid tumors; and PRT3879, a SMARCA2 selective protein degrader, which is in Phase 2/3 clinical trial for the treatment of advanced and metastatic solid tumors with loss of SMARCA4 due to truncating mutation and/or deletion. The company's CDK9 program is a regulator of cancer-promoting transcriptional programs, including MCL1, MYC and MYB. Prelude Therapeutics Incorporated was incorporated in 2016 and is based in Wilmington, Delaware.
About Agile Therapeutics
Agile Therapeutics, Inc., a women's healthcare company, engages in the research, development, and commercialization of prescription contraceptive products for women in the United States. It offers Twirla, a once-weekly prescription combination hormonal contraceptive patch. The company is also developing a pipeline of Twirla line extensions and other products, including AG200-15 Extended Regimen (ER), a regimen that allows a woman to have four episodes of withdrawal bleeding per year; AG200-15 smaller patch (SmP), which is a regimen designed to provide shorter and lighter withdrawal bleeds, and enhance contraceptive efficacy; AG200-15 ER SmP, a regimen to allow a woman to extend the length of her contraceptive cycle, as well as have shorter and lighter withdrawal bleeding episodes per year; and P-Patch, a progestin-only contraceptive patch intended for use by women who are unable or unwilling to take estrogen. Agile Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey.
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