Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) and RenovoRx (NASDAQ:RNXT) Critical Comparison

RenovoRx (NASDAQ:RNXT) and Verve Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VERV) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares RenovoRx and Verve Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
RenovoRx	N/A	-2,860.14%	-261.49%
Verve Therapeutics	-1,701.70%	-39.33%	-30.92%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for RenovoRx and Verve Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
RenovoRx	0	1	2	0	2.67
Verve Therapeutics	0	2	6	0	2.75

RenovoRx currently has a consensus target price of $8.50, indicating a potential upside of 591.06%. Verve Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $33.00, indicating a potential upside of 377.57%. Given RenovoRx’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe RenovoRx is more favorable than Verve Therapeutics.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

3.1% of RenovoRx shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.1% of Verve Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.0% of RenovoRx shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 21.4% of Verve Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares RenovoRx and Verve Therapeutics’ gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
RenovoRx	N/A	N/A	-$10.23 million	($1.01)	-1.22
Verve Therapeutics	$11.76 million	49.14	-$200.07 million	($3.12)	-2.21

RenovoRx has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Verve Therapeutics. Verve Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than RenovoRx, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

RenovoRx has a beta of 1.04, indicating that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Verve Therapeutics has a beta of 1.7, indicating that its stock price is 70% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Verve Therapeutics beats RenovoRx on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About RenovoRx

RenovoRx, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing therapies for the treatment of solid tumors. Its lead product candidate is RenovoGem, a drug and device combination consisting of intra-arterial gemcitabine and RenovoCath that is in Phase III clinical trials for the locally advanced pancreatic cancer. The company has a research collaboration with Imugene Limited to deliver oncolytic virus therapy for the treatment of difficult-to-access tumors. The company was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Los Altos, California.

About Verve Therapeutics

Verve Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage genetic medicines company, engages in developing gene editing medicines for patients to treat cardiovascular diseases in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is VERVE-101, a single-course gene editing treatment that permanently turns off the PCSK9 gene in the liver; and VERVE-102, a product candidate that targets the PCSK9 gene for the treatment of HeFH. It engages in the development of ANGPTL3 program to permanently turn off the ANGPTL3 gene in the liver. It has a collaboration and license agreement with Beam Therapeutics Inc.; a development and option agreement with Acuitas Therapeutics, Inc.; and a Cas9 license agreement with The Broad Institute and the President and Fellows of Harvard College. The company was formerly known as Endcadia, Inc. and changed its name to Verve Therapeutics, Inc. in January 2019. Verve Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.