Critical Review: Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) & Aptorum Group (NASDAQ:APM)

Assembly Biosciences (NASDAQ:ASMB) and Aptorum Group (NASDAQ:APM) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

19.9% of Assembly Biosciences shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.8% of Aptorum Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.1% of Assembly Biosciences shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 64.0% of Aptorum Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Assembly Biosciences and Aptorum Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Assembly Biosciences	N/A	-121.55%	-43.06%
Aptorum Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Assembly Biosciences and Aptorum Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Assembly Biosciences	0	1	1	0	2.50
Aptorum Group	0	0	0	0	N/A

Assembly Biosciences currently has a consensus price target of $35.00, indicating a potential upside of 106.73%. Given Assembly Biosciences’ higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Assembly Biosciences is more favorable than Aptorum Group.

Risk and Volatility

Assembly Biosciences has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aptorum Group has a beta of 1.43, suggesting that its stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Assembly Biosciences and Aptorum Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Assembly Biosciences	$7.16 million	15.01	-$61.23 million	N/A	N/A
Aptorum Group	$431,378.00	20.54	-$2.83 million	N/A	N/A

Aptorum Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Assembly Biosciences.

Summary

Aptorum Group beats Assembly Biosciences on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Assembly Biosciences

Assembly Biosciences, Inc., a biotechnology company, develops therapeutic candidates for the treatment of viral diseases. It develops ABI-5366, a long-acting herpes simplex virus (HSV) helicase-primase inhibitor that is in Phase 1a/1b clinical trial to treat recurrent genital herpes; ABI-1179, which is in Phase 1a/1b clinical trial for the treatment of recurrent genital herpes; and ABI-6250, a small molecule orally bioavailable hepatitis delta virus entry inhibitor that is in Phase 1a clinical trial. The company also develops ABI-4334, a next-generation capsid assembly modulator, which is in Phase 1b clinical trial for the treatment of hepatitis B virus (HBV). In addition, it develops an oral non-nucleoside polymerase inhibitor targeting transplant-related herpesviruses; and a small molecule interferon-a receptor agonist targeting HBV and HDV. The company has collaboration agreements with Gilead Sciences, Inc. and BeiGene, Ltd. The company was formerly known as Ventrus Biosciences, Inc. and changed its name to Assembly Biosciences, Inc. in June 2014. Assembly Biosciences, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.

About Aptorum Group

Aptorum Group Limited, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutic products for the treatment of infectious diseases and cancer. The company operates in the Therapeutics and Non-Therapeutics segments. Its pipeline products include SACT- 1 for neuroblastoma and other cancer types; SACT-COV19 for the treatment of coronavirus disease; ALS-4 to treat bacterial infections caused by staphylococcus aureus, including MRSA; and ALS-1 to treat viral infections caused by influenza virus A. The company is also developing ALS-2/3 for the treatment of gram+ve bacterial infections; RPIDD, a pathogen molecular diagnostic; NativusWell DOI (NLS-2), a dietary supplement; NLS-1 for the treatment of endometriosis; DLS-1+2 to treat NSCLC with mutation; DLS-3, an autoimmune small molecule; and CLS-1 for the treatment of obesity. Its pipeline products enable the discovery of new therapeutics assets, such as systematic screening of existing approved drug molecules, and microbiome-based research platforms for treatment of metabolic diseases. The company also focuses on therapeutic and diagnostic projects in neurology, gastroenterology, metabolic disorders, women's health, and other disease areas. In addition, it operates a medical clinic. The company was formerly known as APTUS Holdings Limited and changed its name to Aptorum Group Limited in October 2017. Aptorum Group Limited was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Aptorum Group Limited is a subsidiary of Jurchen Investment Corporation.