Carisma Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CARM – Get Free Report) and Cassava Sciences (NASDAQ:SAVA – Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
44.3% of Carisma Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.0% of Cassava Sciences shares are held by institutional investors. 6.9% of Carisma Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of Cassava Sciences shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Volatility & Risk
Carisma Therapeutics has a beta of 2.06, suggesting that its stock price is 106% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cassava Sciences has a beta of -0.98, suggesting that its stock price is 198% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Carisma Therapeutics | -254.28% | N/A | -192.17% |
| Cassava Sciences | N/A | -66.16% | -53.11% |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Carisma Therapeutics and Cassava Sciences”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Carisma Therapeutics | $10.77 million | 0.18 | -$60.48 million | ($0.80) | -0.06 |
| Cassava Sciences | N/A | N/A | -$24.34 million | ($2.55) | -1.16 |
Cassava Sciences has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Carisma Therapeutics. Cassava Sciences is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Carisma Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Carisma Therapeutics and Cassava Sciences, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Carisma Therapeutics | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2.29 |
| Cassava Sciences | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.50 |
Carisma Therapeutics currently has a consensus target price of $1.93, suggesting a potential upside of 3,987.05%. Cassava Sciences has a consensus target price of $2.00, suggesting a potential downside of 32.43%. Given Carisma Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Carisma Therapeutics is more favorable than Cassava Sciences.
Summary
Carisma Therapeutics beats Cassava Sciences on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Carisma Therapeutics
Carisma Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage cell therapy company, focuses on discovering and developing immunotherapies to treat cancer and other serious diseases in the United States. The company's ex vivo CAR-M cell therapies include CT-0508, a CAR-macrophage, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial to treat solid tumors; CT-0525, a CAR-monocyte that is in Phase 1 clinical trial to treat solid tumors; and CT-1119, a mesothelin-targeted CAR-Monocyte that is in pre-clinical stage to treat patients with advanced mesothelin-positive solid tumors, including lung cancer, mesothelioma, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, and others. It is also developing in vivo CAR-M cell therapies in collaboration with Moderna Therapeutics to address multiple cancer targets; and multiple assets for the potential treatment of diseases beyond oncology, including fibrosis and other immunologic and inflammatory diseases. The company was formerly known as CARMA Therapeutics Inc. and changed its name to Carisma Therapeutics, Inc. in May 2017. The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
About Cassava Sciences
Cassava Sciences, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company, develops drugs for neurodegenerative diseases. Its lead therapeutic product candidate is simufilam, a small molecule drug, which is completed Phase 2 clinical trial; and investigational diagnostic product candidate is SavaDx, a blood-based biomarker/diagnostic to detect Alzheimer's disease. The company was formerly known as Pain Therapeutics, Inc. and changed its name to Cassava Sciences, Inc. in March 2019. Cassava Sciences, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is based in Austin, Texas.
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