Exicure (NASDAQ:XCUR) & Galecto (NASDAQ:GLTO) Critical Contrast

Galecto (NASDAQ:GLTO) and Exicure (NASDAQ:XCUR) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

14.2% of Galecto shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.8% of Exicure shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.5% of Galecto shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 52.8% of Exicure shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Galecto and Exicure’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Galecto	N/A	-147.05%	-111.33%
Exicure	N/A	-177.55%	-86.42%

Risk and Volatility

Galecto has a beta of 1.42, suggesting that its share price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Exicure has a beta of 4.06, suggesting that its share price is 306% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Galecto and Exicure, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Galecto	1	1	1	1	2.50
Exicure	1	0	0	0	1.00

Galecto currently has a consensus target price of $41.00, indicating a potential upside of 45.54%. Given Galecto’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Galecto is more favorable than Exicure.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Galecto and Exicure”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Galecto	N/A	N/A	-$21.44 million	($12.10)	-2.33
Exicure	$500,000.00	80.01	-$9.70 million	($3.70)	-1.70

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

Summary

Exicure beats Galecto on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Galecto

Galecto, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops molecules for the treatment of fibrosis, cancer, inflammation, and other related diseases. The company's lead product candidate is GB2064, which is in Phase IIa for the treatment of myelofibrosis. It also develops GB2064, a selective oral small molecule inhibitor of LOXL2 that is in Phase 2a clinical trial for the treatment of fibrotic diseases, including cancer and myelofibrosis; and GB1211, a selective oral galectin-3 inhibitor that is in Phase IIa for the treatment of cancer, as well as in Phase Ib/IIa for fibrosis. Galecto, Inc. was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark.

About Exicure

Exicure, Inc., an early-stage biotechnology company, develops nucleic acid therapies targeting ribonucleic acid against validated targets. The company's preclinical candidate includes SCN9A that is in preclinical studies for the treatment of chronic pain. It also develops immuno-oncology therapeutics based on its proprietary SNA technology. Exicure, Inc. was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.