Ascendis Pharma A/S (NASDAQ:ASND – Get Rating) and Vaccinex (NASDAQ:VCNX – Get Rating) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and profitability.
Volatility & Risk
Ascendis Pharma A/S has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vaccinex has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Ascendis Pharma A/S and Vaccinex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Ascendis Pharma A/S | -3,281.45% | -54.58% | -39.31% |
| Vaccinex | N/A | -155.64% | -121.90% |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Ascendis Pharma A/S and Vaccinex’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Ascendis Pharma A/S | $9.20 million | 520.28 | -$453.81 million | ($9.36) | -8.98 |
| Vaccinex | $900,000.00 | 48.35 | -$22.38 million | ($0.65) | -1.57 |
Vaccinex has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ascendis Pharma A/S. Ascendis Pharma A/S is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vaccinex, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
48.6% of Vaccinex shares are held by institutional investors. 40.0% of Ascendis Pharma A/S shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 47.6% of Vaccinex shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings for Ascendis Pharma A/S and Vaccinex, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Ascendis Pharma A/S | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 2.91 |
| Vaccinex | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Ascendis Pharma A/S currently has a consensus price target of $163.40, indicating a potential upside of 94.45%. Given Ascendis Pharma A/S’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ascendis Pharma A/S is more favorable than Vaccinex.
Summary
Vaccinex beats Ascendis Pharma A/S on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Ascendis Pharma A/S
Ascendis Pharma A/S, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing therapeutics for unmet medical needs. The company offers SKYTROFA for treating patients with growth hormone deficiency (GHD). It also develops TransCon Growth Hormone (hGH) for pediatric GHD in Japan; TransCon hGH for adults with GHD; TransCon parathyroid hormone for adult hypoparathyroidism; and TransCon CNP for pediatric achondroplasia. In addition, the company develops TransCon toll like receptors 7/8 agonist for intratumoral delivery; and TransCon IL-2 ß/g for systemic delivery. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Hellerup, Denmark.
About Vaccinex
Vaccinex, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in the discovery and development of targeted biotherapeutics to treat serious diseases and conditions with unmet medical needs. The company offers its products for the treatment of cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and autoimmune disorders. Its lead product candidate is pepinemab, a humanized monoclonal antibody that completed and planned Phase 1b/2 clinical trials for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, osteosarcoma, and melanoma. The company is also developing VX5, a human antibody to CXCL13 that is in preclinical development for the treatment of MS and for other autoimmune disorders. Vaccinex, Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Rochester, New York.
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