Head to Head Comparison: NuCana (NASDAQ:NCNA) & First Wave BioPharma (NASDAQ:FWBI)

NuCana (NASDAQ:NCNA – Get Rating) and First Wave BioPharma (NASDAQ:FWBI – Get Rating) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for NuCana and First Wave BioPharma, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NuCana	0	1	1	0	2.50
First Wave BioPharma	0	1	0	0	2.00

NuCana currently has a consensus price target of $7.50, indicating a potential upside of 1,128.50%. First Wave BioPharma has a consensus price target of $8.00, indicating a potential upside of 2,152.89%. Given First Wave BioPharma’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Wave BioPharma is more favorable than NuCana.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares NuCana and First Wave BioPharma’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NuCana	N/A	N/A	-$55.74 million	($1.06)	-0.58
First Wave BioPharma	N/A	N/A	-$58.54 million	($9.37)	-0.04

NuCana is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Wave BioPharma, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

51.5% of NuCana shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.4% of First Wave BioPharma shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of First Wave BioPharma shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

NuCana has a beta of 0.58, indicating that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Wave BioPharma has a beta of 1.78, indicating that its share price is 78% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares NuCana and First Wave BioPharma’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NuCana	N/A	-50.49%	-44.64%
First Wave BioPharma	N/A	-3,522.67%	-418.32%

Summary

NuCana beats First Wave BioPharma on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NuCana (Get Rating)

NuCana plc, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of products for the treatment of cancer. The company develops its products based on its proprietary ProTide technology. Its lead product candidate includes Acelarin, which is in Phase I clinical trial for patients with advanced solid tumors; Phase Ib for patients with recurrent ovarian cancer; Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of patients with biliary tract cancer; Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer; and Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. The company is also developing NUC-3373, a ProTide transformation of the active anti-cancer metabolite of 5-fluorouracil, which is in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of patients with advanced solid tumors; and NUC-7738, a nucleoside analog that is in Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of patients with advanced solid tumors and hematological tumors. NuCana plc has a research, collaboration, and license agreement with Cardiff University and University College Cardiff Consultants Ltd. for the design, synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of ProTides; and an assignment, license, and collaboration agreement with Cardiff ProTides Ltd. The company was formerly known as NuCana BioMed Limited and changed its name to NuCana plc in August 2017. NuCana plc was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Edinburgh, the United Kingdom.

About First Wave BioPharma (Get Rating)

First Wave BioPharma, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research and development of targeted and non-systemic therapies for the treatment of patients with gastrointestinal diseases. Its product candidates include niclosamide, an oral small molecule with anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties; and the biologic adrulipase, a recombinant lipase enzyme designed to enable the digestion of fats and other nutrients. The company develops FW-COV, which is in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 gastrointestinal infections; FW-UP, which is in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment ulcerative proctitis and ulcerative proctosigmoiditis; FW-ICI-AC for immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated colitis and diarrhea in advanced stage oncology patients; and FW-UC, which is in Phase Ib/IIa clinical trials for the treatment of ulcerative proctitis and ulcerative proctosigmoiditis. It also develops FW-CD, which has completed Phase I clinical trials for Crohn's disease; and adrulipase, an oral, non-systemic, and biologic capsule for the treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in patients with cystic fibrosis and chronic pancreatitis. The company was formerly known as AzurRx BioPharma, Inc. and changed its name to First Wave BioPharma, Inc. in September 2021. First Wave BioPharma, Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.