Contrasting NextCure (NASDAQ:NXTC) and Beyond Air (NASDAQ:XAIR)

Beyond Air (NASDAQ:XAIR) and NextCure (NASDAQ:NXTC) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Volatility & Risk

Beyond Air has a beta of 0.41, suggesting that its share price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NextCure has a beta of 1.5, suggesting that its share price is 50% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

31.5% of Beyond Air shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.7% of NextCure shares are held by institutional investors. 17.0% of Beyond Air shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 17.9% of NextCure shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Beyond Air and NextCure’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Beyond Air	-447.75%	-268.82%	-98.49%
NextCure	N/A	-152.90%	-109.17%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Beyond Air and NextCure, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Beyond Air	1	0	2	0	2.33
NextCure	1	0	3	0	2.50

Beyond Air currently has a consensus target price of $10.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1,284.47%. NextCure has a consensus target price of $23.00, suggesting a potential upside of 129.77%. Given Beyond Air’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Beyond Air is more favorable than NextCure.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Beyond Air and NextCure”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Beyond Air	$3.70 million	2.06	-$46.62 million	($5.43)	-0.13
NextCure	N/A	N/A	-$55.84 million	($20.00)	-0.50

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

Summary

NextCure beats Beyond Air on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Beyond Air

Beyond Air, Inc. operates as a commercial-stage medical device and biopharmaceutical company in the United States. The company engages in the development of LungFit platform, a nitric oxide generator and delivery system. It offers LungFit PH for the treatment of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. The company is also developing LungFit PRO for the treatment of viral lung infections, such as community-acquired viral pneumonia, including COVID-19, as well as bronchiolitis in hospitalized patients; and LungFit GO for the treatment of nontuberculous mycobacteria. The company was formerly known as AIT Therapeutics, Inc. and changed its name to Beyond Air, Inc. in June 2019. Beyond Air, Inc. is based in Garden City, New York.

About NextCure

NextCure, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in discovering and developing novel immunomedicines to treat cancer and other immune-related diseases by restoring normal immune function. The company is developing NC410, an immunomedicine designed to block immune suppression mediated by LAIR-1; NC762, a monoclonal antibody that binds specifically to B7-H4, a protein expressed on multiple tumor types; and NC525, a monoclonal antibody that binds to LAIR-1 to functionally kill AML blast cells and leukemic stem cells while preserving normal blood cells, including hematopoietic stem cells. Its discovery and research programs include an antibody in preclinical evaluation of other potential novel immunomodulatory molecules. It has a license agreement with Yale University. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Beltsville, Maryland.