Head to Head Survey: Zura Bio (NASDAQ:ZURA) & HilleVax (NASDAQ:HLVX)

Zura Bio (NASDAQ:ZURA) and HilleVax (NASDAQ:HLVX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Zura Bio and HilleVax’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zura Bio	N/A	-37.36%	-29.81%
HilleVax	N/A	-67.27%	-51.99%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Zura Bio and HilleVax”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zura Bio	N/A	N/A	-$69.24 million	N/A	N/A
HilleVax	N/A	N/A	-$123.57 million	($3.10)	-0.67

Insider and Institutional Ownership

61.1% of Zura Bio shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.4% of HilleVax shares are owned by institutional investors. 22.1% of Zura Bio shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 71.1% of HilleVax shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Zura Bio has a beta of -0.02, indicating that its share price is 102% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HilleVax has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Zura Bio and HilleVax, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zura Bio	0	1	5	1	3.00
HilleVax	0	6	0	0	2.00

Zura Bio presently has a consensus price target of $15.80, indicating a potential upside of 512.40%. HilleVax has a consensus price target of $3.00, indicating a potential upside of 43.54%. Given Zura Bio’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Zura Bio is more favorable than HilleVax.

Summary

Zura Bio beats HilleVax on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Zura Bio

Zura Bio Limited, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, focuses on developing novel medicines for immune and inflammatory disorders. It develops Tibulizumab, an IgG-scFv bispecific dual-antagonist antibody engineered by the fusion of ixekizumab and tabalumab that neutralizes IL-17A and BAFF, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial development; ZB-168, a monoclonal antibody that binds and neutralizes the IL-7 receptor chain that impact on diseases driven by IL7 and thymic stromal lymphopoietin immune pathways; and Torudokimab, a monoclonal antibody that neutralizes IL33, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial development. The company is based in Henderson, Nevada.

About HilleVax

HilleVax, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing novel vaccines in the United States. It develops HIL-214, a virus-like particle-based vaccine candidate for the prevention of moderate-to-severe acute gastroenteritis caused by norovirus infection. The company was formerly known as MokshaCo, Inc. and changed its name to HilleVax, Inc. in February 2021. HilleVax, Inc. was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.