Critical Contrast: Dynavax Technologies (NASDAQ:DVAX) vs. Janux Therapeutics (NASDAQ:JANX)

Janux Therapeutics (NASDAQ:JANX) and Dynavax Technologies (NASDAQ:DVAX) are both medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Janux Therapeutics and Dynavax Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Janux Therapeutics	0	0	7	0	3.00
Dynavax Technologies	0	1	3	0	2.75

Janux Therapeutics currently has a consensus price target of $61.33, indicating a potential upside of 29.42%. Dynavax Technologies has a consensus price target of $25.00, indicating a potential upside of 123.02%. Given Dynavax Technologies’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Dynavax Technologies is more favorable than Janux Therapeutics.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Janux Therapeutics and Dynavax Technologies’ top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Janux Therapeutics	$8.08 million	302.99	-$58.29 million	($1.34)	-35.37
Dynavax Technologies	$232.28 million	6.32	-$6.39 million	($0.06)	-186.83

Dynavax Technologies has higher revenue and earnings than Janux Therapeutics. Dynavax Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Janux Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

75.4% of Janux Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.0% of Dynavax Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 35.4% of Janux Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Dynavax Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Janux Therapeutics has a beta of 4.18, indicating that its stock price is 318% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dynavax Technologies has a beta of 1.26, indicating that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Janux Therapeutics and Dynavax Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Janux Therapeutics	-721.18%	-17.88%	-15.95%
Dynavax Technologies	-2.75%	-1.08%	-0.66%

Summary

Dynavax Technologies beats Janux Therapeutics on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Janux Therapeutics

Janux Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, develops immunotherapies based on Tumor Activated T Cell Engagers (TRACTr) and Tumor Activated Immunomodulators (TRACIr) platforms technology to treat patients suffering from cancer. The company's clinical candidates comprise JANX007, a prostate-specific membrane antigen or PSMA-TRACTr, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial in adults for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and the vasculature of other tumors; and JANX008, an epidermal growth factor receptor or EGFR-TRACTr that is in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of multiple solid cancers, including colorectal cancer, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, non-small cell lung cancer, and renal cell carcinoma. Its development pipeline also consists of discovery stage products. The company has strategic research collaboration agreement with Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. to develop TRACTr product candidates. Janux Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About Dynavax Technologies

Dynavax Technologies Corporation, a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing vaccines in the United States. It markets HEPLISAV-B, a hepatitis B vaccine for prevention of infection caused by all known subtypes of hepatitis B virus in age 18 years and older in the United States and Europe. The company also manufactures and sells CpG 1018, the adjuvant used in HEPLISAV-B. Dynavax Technologies Corporation has a collaboration agreement with Valneva Scotland Limited; Zhejiang Clover Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.; Clover Biopharmaceuticals (Hong Kong) Co., Limited; Biological E. Limited; PT Bio Farma; Medigen Vaccine Biologics; and Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd. The company was formerly known as Double Helix Corporation and changed its name to Dynavax Technologies Corporation in September 1996. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Emeryville, California.