Head to Head Review: Exagen (NASDAQ:XGN) versus BioNexus Gene Lab (NASDAQ:BGLC)

Exagen (NASDAQ:XGN) and BioNexus Gene Lab (NASDAQ:BGLC) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, earnings and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Exagen and BioNexus Gene Lab’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Exagen	-30.56%	-78.90%	-31.77%
BioNexus Gene Lab	-27.24%	-30.74%	-25.41%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

75.3% of Exagen shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.9% of BioNexus Gene Lab shares are owned by institutional investors. 26.1% of Exagen shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.8% of BioNexus Gene Lab shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Exagen and BioNexus Gene Lab’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Exagen	$52.55 million	1.04	-$23.69 million	($1.09)	-2.88
BioNexus Gene Lab	$9.78 million	0.75	-$2.63 million	N/A	N/A

BioNexus Gene Lab has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Exagen.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Exagen and BioNexus Gene Lab, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Exagen	0	0	2	0	3.00
BioNexus Gene Lab	0	0	0	0	N/A

Exagen presently has a consensus target price of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 122.93%. Given Exagen’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Exagen is more favorable than BioNexus Gene Lab.

Summary

Exagen beats BioNexus Gene Lab on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Exagen

Exagen Inc. develops and commercializes various testing products under the AVISE brand in the United States. The company enables healthcare providers to care for patients through the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of autoimmune and autoimmune-related diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Its lead testing product is AVISE CTD that enables differential diagnosis for patients presenting with symptoms indicative of various connective tissue diseases (CTDs) and other related diseases with overlapping symptoms. The company offers AVISE Lupus that measures activation of the complement system by quantifying the level of B-cell C4d and erythrocyte bound C4d in the patient's blood; and AVISE APS, which consists of a panel of autoantibody tests that aids in the diagnosis and management of APS. In addition, it provides AVISE Vasculitis AAV, which utilizes a testing panel of individual analytes to provide physicians with results in the assessment and monitoring of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody associated vasculitis; AVISE SLE Prognostic, a panel of autoantibodies for assessing the potential for complications affecting the kidney, brain, and cardiovascular system; and AVISE Anti-CarP test, which identifies RA patients with severe disease. Further, the company offers AVISE SLE Monitor, a biomarker blood test; AVISE MTX, a patented and validated blood test; and AVISE HCQ, a blood test to monitor levels of hydroxychloroquine. It has a research collaboration and license agreement with Allegheny Health Network (AHN) Research Institute to develop novel patented biomarkers. The company was formerly known as Exagen Diagnostics, Inc. and changed its name to Exagen Inc. in January 2019. Exagen Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Vista, California.

About BioNexus Gene Lab

BioNexus Gene Lab Corp., through its subsidiary, sells chemical raw material products in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and other countries in Southeast Asia. The company offers chemical raw material products, which include Polyester Resin SHCP 268, a thixotropic, quick-curing unsaturated polyester resin suitable as a general-purpose resin; Polyester Resin 9509, a general-purpose material used in production of marine boats and water slides; and Polyester Resin 2802 used as a component in the pultrusion process by certain manufacturers. Its products are used to produce handrails, bench tops, automotive and aero parts, and paneling for hospital, laboratory, industrial clean rooms, and covers for various instruments used in manufacturing. The company also involves in developing and providing non-invasive liquid biopsy tests for the early detection of biomarkers to detect potential risk of diseases. It markets its products through its website, warehouse, marketing personnel, and suppliers. The company was incorporated in 2017 and is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.