Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) & REGENXBIO (NASDAQ:RGNX) Critical Analysis

REGENXBIO (NASDAQ:RGNX) and Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares REGENXBIO and Novavax”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
REGENXBIO	$83.33 million	5.35	-$263.49 million	($4.61)	-1.93
Novavax	$1.21 billion	0.90	-$545.06 million	$2.65	2.54

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

Volatility & Risk

REGENXBIO has a beta of 1.11, suggesting that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Novavax has a beta of 3.21, suggesting that its share price is 221% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

88.1% of REGENXBIO shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 53.0% of Novavax shares are held by institutional investors. 12.8% of REGENXBIO shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Novavax shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares REGENXBIO and Novavax’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
REGENXBIO	-283.19%	-70.65%	-41.68%
Novavax	-32.18%	N/A	-17.05%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for REGENXBIO and Novavax, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
REGENXBIO	0	1	5	0	2.83
Novavax	1	2	4	0	2.43

REGENXBIO currently has a consensus price target of $31.63, indicating a potential upside of 255.74%. Novavax has a consensus price target of $19.00, indicating a potential upside of 182.32%. Given REGENXBIO’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe REGENXBIO is more favorable than Novavax.

Summary

REGENXBIO beats Novavax on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About REGENXBIO

REGENXBIO Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, provides gene therapies that deliver functional genes to cells with genetic defects in the United States. Its gene therapy product candidates are based on NAV Technology Platform, a proprietary adeno-associated virus gene delivery platform. The company’s products in pipeline includes ABBV-RGX-314 for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and other chronic retinal diseases; and RGX-202, which is in Phase I/II clinical trial for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. It also develops RGX-121 for the treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis type II that is in Phase III clinical trial; RGX-111 for treating mucopolysaccharidosis type I; RGX-181 for the treatment of late infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type II; and RGX-381 to treat the ocular manifestations of CLN2 disease. In addition, the company licenses its NAV Technology Platform to other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Further, it has a collaboration and license agreement with AbbVie Global Enterprises Ltd. to develop ABBV-RGX-314 outside the United States. REGENXBIO Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland.

About Novavax

Novavax, Inc., a biotechnology company, that promotes improved health by discovering, developing, and commercializing vaccines to protect against serious infectious diseases. It offers vaccine platform that combines a recombinant protein approach, nanoparticle technology, and its patented Matrix-M adjuvant to enhance the immune response. It focuses on urgent health challenges, which is evaluating vaccines for COVID-19, influenza, and COVID-19 influenza combination. The company is commercializing a COVID-19 vaccine, NVX-CoV2373 under the brand names of Nuvaxovid, Covovax, and Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, adjuvanted for adult and adolescent populations as a primary series and for both homologous and heterologous booster indications. It is also developing R21/Matrix-M adjuvant malaria vaccine. Novavax, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.