Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) versus Marker Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MRKR) Head to Head Comparison

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) and Marker Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MRKR) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

36.8% of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.4% of Marker Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.2% of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.5% of Marker Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Aurinia Pharmaceuticals and Marker Therapeutics”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aurinia Pharmaceuticals	$235.13 million	5.10	$5.75 million	$0.28	31.71
Marker Therapeutics	$6.59 million	2.71	-$10.73 million	($1.33)	-1.19

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

Profitability

This table compares Aurinia Pharmaceuticals and Marker Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aurinia Pharmaceuticals	16.11%	14.27%	9.93%
Marker Therapeutics	-224.46%	-101.87%	-83.02%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Aurinia Pharmaceuticals and Marker Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aurinia Pharmaceuticals	0	0	2	0	3.00
Marker Therapeutics	0	0	2	2	3.50

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus price target of $11.50, indicating a potential upside of 29.50%. Marker Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $13.17, indicating a potential upside of 733.33%. Given Marker Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Marker Therapeutics is more favorable than Aurinia Pharmaceuticals.

Risk and Volatility

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its share price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Marker Therapeutics has a beta of 1.43, suggesting that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals beats Marker Therapeutics on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc., a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies to treat various diseases with unmet medical need in the United States. It offers LUPKYNIS for the treatment of adult patients with active lupus nephritis. It has a collaboration and license agreement with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. The company was incorporated in 1993 and is headquartered in Edmonton, Canada.

About Marker Therapeutics

Marker Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, engages in the development and commercialization of novel T cell-based immunotherapies for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumor indications. Its multi tumor associated antigen-specific T cell technology is based on the manufacture of non-engineered tumor-specific T cells that recognize multiple tumor-associated antigens. The company also develops MT-401-OTS for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia; and MT-601 to treat lymphoma and pancreatic cancer. Marker Therapeutics, Inc. is headquartered in Houston, Texas.