Head to Head Comparison: CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) versus Adverum Biotechnologies (NASDAQ:ADVM)

Adverum Biotechnologies (NASDAQ:ADVM) and CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Adverum Biotechnologies and CRISPR Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Adverum Biotechnologies	$3.60 million	40.01	-$117.17 million	($10.20)	-0.68
CRISPR Therapeutics	$200.00 million	20.09	-$153.61 million	($2.72)	-17.40

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

48.2% of Adverum Biotechnologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.2% of CRISPR Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.2% of Adverum Biotechnologies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.1% of CRISPR Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Adverum Biotechnologies and CRISPR Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Adverum Biotechnologies	0	1	5	0	2.83
CRISPR Therapeutics	2	8	9	0	2.37

Adverum Biotechnologies currently has a consensus price target of $28.17, suggesting a potential upside of 305.86%. CRISPR Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $75.63, suggesting a potential upside of 59.82%. Given Adverum Biotechnologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Adverum Biotechnologies is more favorable than CRISPR Therapeutics.

Profitability

This table compares Adverum Biotechnologies and CRISPR Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Adverum Biotechnologies	N/A	-74.45%	-44.81%
CRISPR Therapeutics	N/A	-13.85%	-11.69%

Volatility and Risk

Adverum Biotechnologies has a beta of 1.03, meaning that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CRISPR Therapeutics has a beta of 1.68, meaning that its stock price is 68% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

CRISPR Therapeutics beats Adverum Biotechnologies on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Adverum Biotechnologies

Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc., a clinical-stage company, develops gene therapy product candidates to treat ocular diseases. Its lead product candidate is ixoberogene soroparvovec (ADVM-022), a single intravitreal injection gene therapy candidate used for the treatment of patients with wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema which is in phase 2 clinical trials. The company is developing ADVM-062 (AAV.7m8-L-opsin), a novel gene therapy product candidate for the treatment of blue cone monochromacy via a single IVT injection. Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc. has license and collaboration agreements with University of California; GenSight Biologics; Lexeo Therapeutics; and Virovek, Inc. The company was formerly known as Avalanche Biotechnologies, Inc. and changed its name to Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc. in May 2016. Adverum Biotechnologies, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Redwood City, California.

About CRISPR Therapeutics

CRISPR Therapeutics is a gene-editing company focused on developing transformative gene-based medicines for serious diseases using its proprietary CRISPR/Cas9 platform. CRISPR/Cas9 is a revolutionary gene-editing technology that allows for precise, directed changes to genomic DNA. CRISPR Therapeutics has established a portfolio of therapeutic programs across a broad range of disease areas including hemoglobinopathies, oncology, regenerative medicine and rare diseases. To accelerate and expand its efforts, CRISPR Therapeutics has established strategic collaborations with companies including Bayer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and ViaCyte, Inc. CRISPR Therapeutics AG is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, with its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, CRISPR Therapeutics, Inc., and R&D operations based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and business offices in San Francisco, California and London, United Kingdom. For more information, please visit www.crisprtx.com.