LENZ Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LENZ) versus Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ABEO) Critical Comparison

Abeona Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ABEO) and LENZ Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LENZ) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Risk & Volatility

Abeona Therapeutics has a beta of 1.13, meaning that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LENZ Therapeutics has a beta of 0.52, meaning that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Abeona Therapeutics and LENZ Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Abeona Therapeutics	N/A	-60.65%	-40.78%
LENZ Therapeutics	N/A	-29.58%	-27.89%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

80.6% of Abeona Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.3% of LENZ Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of Abeona Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.9% of LENZ Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Abeona Therapeutics and LENZ Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Abeona Therapeutics	$5.82 million	42.44	$71.18 million	$1.03	4.20
LENZ Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$49.77 million	($2.11)	-4.28

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Abeona Therapeutics and LENZ Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Abeona Therapeutics	1	0	4	0	2.60
LENZ Therapeutics	1	1	5	0	2.57

Abeona Therapeutics currently has a consensus target price of $19.00, suggesting a potential upside of 338.80%. LENZ Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $55.50, suggesting a potential upside of 514.62%. Given LENZ Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe LENZ Therapeutics is more favorable than Abeona Therapeutics.

Summary

Abeona Therapeutics beats LENZ Therapeutics on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Abeona Therapeutics

Abeona Therapeutics Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and delivering gene therapy products for severe and life-threatening rare diseases. The company's lead programs are EB-101 (gene-corrected skin grafts) for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB); ABO-102, which are AAV based gene therapies for Sanfilippo syndrome type A; and ABO-101, an adeno-associated virus (AAV) based gene therapies for Sanfilippo syndrome type B. It is also developing ABO-201 gene therapy for juvenile Batten disease; ABO-202 gene therapy for treatment of infantile Batten disease; EB-201 for for epidermolysis bullosa (EB); ABO-301 for Fanconi anemia disorder; and ABO-302 using a novel CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing approach to gene therapy program for rare blood diseases. Further, it is involved in marketing MuGard, a mucoadhesive oral wound rinse for the management of mucositis, stomatitis, aphthous ulcers, and traumatic ulcers. Abeona Therapeutics Inc. has collaborations with EB Research Partnership and Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation that focus on gene therapy treatments for EB; and Brammer Bio for commercial translation of ABO-102. The company was formerly known as PlasmaTech Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed its name to Abeona Therapeutics Inc. in June 2015. Abeona Therapeutics Inc. was incorporated in 1989 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

About LENZ Therapeutics

LENZ Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies to improve vision in the United States. Its product candidates include LNZ100 and LNZ101 which are in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of presbyopia. The company is headquartered in Del Mar, California.