Head to Head Survey: Imunon (NASDAQ:IMNN) and Aileron Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ALRN)

Imunon (NASDAQ:IMNN) and Aileron Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ALRN) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends and risk.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Imunon and Aileron Therapeutics’ gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Imunon	$500,000.00	22.84	-$19.51 million	($2.02)	-0.60
Aileron Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$15.73 million	($3.19)	-0.89

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Imunon and Aileron Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Imunon	0	0	1	0	3.00
Aileron Therapeutics	0	0	1	1	3.50

Imunon presently has a consensus price target of $12.00, suggesting a potential upside of 887.65%. Aileron Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $19.00, suggesting a potential upside of 569.01%. Given Imunon’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Imunon is more favorable than Aileron Therapeutics.

Risk and Volatility

Imunon has a beta of 2.12, suggesting that its share price is 112% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aileron Therapeutics has a beta of 2.23, suggesting that its share price is 123% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

4.5% of Imunon shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.9% of Aileron Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.0% of Imunon shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.6% of Aileron Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Imunon and Aileron Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Imunon	N/A	-122.68%	-84.15%
Aileron Therapeutics	N/A	-95.55%	-31.15%

Summary

Aileron Therapeutics beats Imunon on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Imunon

Imunon, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in the development of immunotherapies and vaccines to treat cancer and infectious diseases. The company's lead clinical program IMNN-001, a DNA-based immunotherapy for the localized treatment of ovarian cancer that is in Phase II clinical development. Its preclinical stage products include IMNN-101, a COVID-19 booster vaccine; IMNN-102 for the treatment of Lassa virus; and IMNN-201, a Trp2 tumor associated antigen cancer vaccine in melanoma. In addition, the company develops non-viral DNA technology across four modalities, such as TheraPlas for the coding of proteins and cytokines in the treatment of solid tumors; PlaCCine for the coding of viral antigens that can elicit a strong immunological response; FixPlas for the application of Imunon's DNA technology to produce universal cancer vaccines; and IndiPlas, which is in the discovery phase for the development of personalized cancer vaccines or neoepitope cancer vaccines. Imunon, Inc. was formerly known as Celsion Corporation and changed its name to Imunon, Inc. in September 2022. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

About Aileron Therapeutics

Aileron Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing medicines to address unmet medical needs in orphan pulmonary and fibrosis indications in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is LTI-03, a peptide, which is in Phase 1b clinical trial for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Its second product candidate is LTI-01, a proenzyme that has completed Phase 1b and Phase 2a clinical trials in LPE patients for the treatment of loculated pleural effusion. The company's pipeline also includes preclinical programs targeting cystic fibrosis and a peptide program focused on the caveolin-1 protein for systemic fibrosis indications. The company was formerly known as Renegade Therapeutics, Inc. and changed its name to Aileron Therapeutics, Inc. in February 2007. Aileron Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.