Financial Contrast: Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) vs. AlloVir (NASDAQ:ALVR)

AlloVir (NASDAQ:ALVR) and Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and valuation.

Risk and Volatility

AlloVir has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vaxcyte has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares AlloVir and Vaxcyte’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AlloVir	N/A	-98.50%	-78.56%
Vaxcyte	N/A	-30.07%	-28.08%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

66.1% of AlloVir shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.8% of Vaxcyte shares are held by institutional investors. 33.8% of AlloVir shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.1% of Vaxcyte shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares AlloVir and Vaxcyte’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AlloVir	N/A	N/A	-$190.42 million	($1.66)	-0.47
Vaxcyte	N/A	N/A	-$402.27 million	($4.28)	-18.87

Vaxcyte is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AlloVir, 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 AlloVir and Vaxcyte, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AlloVir	2	3	0	0	1.60
Vaxcyte	0	0	4	0	3.00

Vaxcyte has a consensus price target of $81.33, indicating a potential upside of 0.71%. Given Vaxcyte’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Vaxcyte is more favorable than AlloVir.

Summary

Vaxcyte beats AlloVir on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AlloVir

Allovir, Inc., a clinical-stage cell therapy company, engages in the research and development of allogeneic, off-the-shelf multi-virus specific T cell (VST) therapies to prevent and treat devastating viral-associated diseases. The company's lead product is posoleucel, an allogeneic, off-the-shelf VST therapy, to treat BK virus, cytomegalovirus, adenovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, human herpesvirus 6, and JC virus. Its preclinical and clinical development product candidates include ALVR106 for the respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, parainfluenza virus, and human metapneumovirus; ALVR109 to treat SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19; ALVR107 for treating hepatitis B; and ALVR108. The company was formerly known as ViraCyte, Inc. and changed its name to Allovir, Inc. in May 2019. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is based in Waltham, Massachusetts.

About Vaxcyte

Vaxcyte, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology vaccine company, develops novel protein vaccines to prevent or treat bacterial infectious diseases. Its lead vaccine candidate is VAX-24, a 24-valent investigational pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease. The company also develops VAX-31 to protect against emerging strains and to help address antibiotic resistance; VAX-A1, a novel conjugate vaccine candidate to prevent disease caused by Group A Streptococcus; VAX-PG, a novel protein vaccine candidate targeting keystone pathogen responsible for periodontitis; and VAX-GI to prevent Shigella, a bacterial illness. The company was formerly known as SutroVax, Inc. and changed its name to Vaxcyte, Inc. in May 2020. Vaxcyte, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in San Carlos, California.