Financial Analysis: NexImmune (NASDAQ:NEXI) versus Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC)

NexImmune (NASDAQ:NEXI) and Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for NexImmune and Benitec Biopharma, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NexImmune	0	0	0	0	0.00
Benitec Biopharma	0	0	7	2	3.22

Benitec Biopharma has a consensus price target of $24.43, indicating a potential upside of 116.18%. Given Benitec Biopharma’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Benitec Biopharma is more favorable than NexImmune.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares NexImmune and Benitec Biopharma”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NexImmune	N/A	N/A	-$32.34 million	($18.54)	-0.01
Benitec Biopharma	$80,000.00	3,312.31	-$21.75 million	N/A	N/A

Benitec Biopharma has higher revenue and earnings than NexImmune.

Profitability

This table compares NexImmune and Benitec Biopharma’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NexImmune	N/A	-534.32%	-213.72%
Benitec Biopharma	N/A	-44.61%	-41.25%

Risk & Volatility

NexImmune has a beta of 1.89, meaning that its stock price is 89% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Benitec Biopharma has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

9.9% of NexImmune shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.2% of Benitec Biopharma shares are held by institutional investors. 14.9% of NexImmune shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Benitec Biopharma shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Benitec Biopharma beats NexImmune on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NexImmune

NexImmune, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, engages in developing therapies with curative potential for patients with cancer and other life-threatening immune-mediated diseases in the United States. It develops approaches to T cell immunotherapies based on its proprietary Artificial Immune Modulation, a nanoparticle technology platform. The company’s product candidates include NEXI-001, an allogeneic cell therapy, which is in Phase I/II clinical trials for the treatment of patients with acute myeloid leukemia; NEXI-002, an autologous cell therapy that is in Phase I/II clinical trials for the treatment of patients with relapsed and/or refractory in multiple myeloma; and NEXI-003, a product candidate targeted against HPV related cancers, which is in Phase I/II clinical trials. It provides NEXI-004 which is in preclinical stage for EBV related diseases; and NEXI005 designs for patient with specific targets for solid tumors. NexImmune, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

About Benitec Biopharma

Benitec Biopharma Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on the development of novel genetic medicines. The company develops DNA-directed RNA interference-based therapeutics for chronic and life-threatening human conditions. It is developing BB-301, an adeno-associated virus based gene therapy agent for treating oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Hayward, California.