Reviewing MacroGenics (NASDAQ:MGNX) & Exagen (NASDAQ:XGN)

MacroGenics (NASDAQ:MGNX) and Exagen (NASDAQ:XGN) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares MacroGenics and Exagen’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MacroGenics	-59.46%	-98.30%	-30.28%
Exagen	-29.94%	-113.48%	-30.28%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for MacroGenics and Exagen, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MacroGenics	1	3	1	2	2.57
Exagen	1	0	8	0	2.78

MacroGenics presently has a consensus price target of $3.60, suggesting a potential upside of 162.77%. Exagen has a consensus price target of $14.17, suggesting a potential upside of 96.76%. Given MacroGenics’ higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe MacroGenics is more favorable than Exagen.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

96.9% of MacroGenics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.3% of Exagen shares are held by institutional investors. 13.0% of MacroGenics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 12.6% of Exagen shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares MacroGenics and Exagen”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MacroGenics	$149.96 million	0.58	-$66.97 million	($1.20)	-1.14
Exagen	$55.64 million	2.93	-$15.11 million	($0.92)	-7.83

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

Volatility and Risk

MacroGenics has a beta of 1.52, meaning that its stock price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Exagen has a beta of 1.8, meaning that its stock price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500.

About MacroGenics

MacroGenics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, and commercializes antibody-based therapeutics to treat cancer in the United States. Its approved product is MARGENZA (margetuximab-cmkb), a human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) receptor antagonist indicated, in combination with chemotherapy, for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer who have received two or more prior anti-HER2 regimens. The company's pipeline of immuno-oncology product candidates includes MGC018, an antibody drug conjugate (ADC), which targets solid tumors expressing B7-H3; Enoblituzumab, a monoclonal antibody that targets B7-H3; and MGD024, an investigational bispecific CD123 × CD3 DART molecule to minimize cytokine-release syndrome for patients with hematologic malignancies. In addition, it develops Lorigerlimab, a monoclonal antibody that targets the immune checkpoints PD-1 and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4; Tebotelimab, an investigational tetravalent DART molecule for PD-1 and lymphocyte-activation gene 3; Retifanlimab, a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting programmed death receptor-1; and IMGC936, an ADC that targets ADAM9, a cell surface protein over-expressed in various solid tumor types. Further, the company develops MGD014 and MGD020, a DART molecule to target the envelope protein of human immunodeficiency virus infected cells and CD3 on T cells; Teplizumab for the treatment of type 1 diabetes; and PRV-3279, a CD32B × CD79B DART molecule for the treatment of autoimmune indications. It has collaborations with Incyte Corporation; Zai Lab Limited; I-Mab Biopharma; and Janssen Biotech, Inc. The company was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland.

About Exagen

Exagen Inc. develops and commercializes various testing products under the AVISE brand in the United States. The company enables healthcare providers to care for patients through the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of autoimmune and autoimmune-related diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Its lead testing product is AVISE CTD that enables differential diagnosis for patients presenting with symptoms indicative of various connective tissue diseases (CTDs) and other related diseases with overlapping symptoms. The company offers AVISE Lupus that measures activation of the complement system by quantifying the level of B-cell C4d and erythrocyte bound C4d in the patient's blood; and AVISE APS, which consists of a panel of autoantibody tests that aids in the diagnosis and management of APS. In addition, it provides AVISE Vasculitis AAV, which utilizes a testing panel of individual analytes to provide physicians with results in the assessment and monitoring of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody associated vasculitis; AVISE SLE Prognostic, a panel of autoantibodies for assessing the potential for complications affecting the kidney, brain, and cardiovascular system; and AVISE Anti-CarP test, which identifies RA patients with severe disease. Further, the company offers AVISE SLE Monitor, a biomarker blood test; AVISE MTX, a patented and validated blood test; and AVISE HCQ, a blood test to monitor levels of hydroxychloroquine. It has a research collaboration and license agreement with Allegheny Health Network (AHN) Research Institute to develop novel patented biomarkers. The company was formerly known as Exagen Diagnostics, Inc. and changed its name to Exagen Inc. in January 2019. Exagen Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Vista, California.