Acumen Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ABOS) vs. MeiraGTx (NASDAQ:MGTX) Critical Analysis

MeiraGTx (NASDAQ:MGTX) and Acumen Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ABOS) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Risk and Volatility

MeiraGTx has a beta of 1.25, meaning that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acumen Pharmaceuticals has a beta of -0.07, meaning that its stock price is 107% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares MeiraGTx and Acumen Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MeiraGTx	-633.05%	-146.38%	-53.05%
Acumen Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-32.99%	-27.99%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

67.5% of MeiraGTx shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.0% of Acumen Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.4% of MeiraGTx shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.1% of Acumen Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares MeiraGTx and Acumen Pharmaceuticals”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MeiraGTx	$14.02 million	33.95	-$84.03 million	($1.21)	-5.03
Acumen Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	-$52.37 million	($1.38)	-1.28

Acumen Pharmaceuticals has lower revenue, but higher earnings than MeiraGTx. MeiraGTx is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Acumen Pharmaceuticals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for MeiraGTx and Acumen Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MeiraGTx	0	0	2	0	3.00
Acumen Pharmaceuticals	0	0	2	1	3.33

MeiraGTx presently has a consensus price target of $23.50, suggesting a potential upside of 285.88%. Acumen Pharmaceuticals has a consensus price target of $9.33, suggesting a potential upside of 427.31%. Given Acumen Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Acumen Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than MeiraGTx.

Summary

Acumen Pharmaceuticals beats MeiraGTx on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MeiraGTx

MeiraGTx Holdings plc, a clinical stage gene therapy company, focusing on developing treatments for patients with serious diseases. The company develops various therapies for ocular diseases, including inherited retinal diseases and large degenerative ocular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and xerostomia. Its programs in clinical development include Phase I/II clinical stage programs in achromatopsia, X-linked retinitis pigmentosa, and RPE65-deficiency; Phase I clinical trials for radiation-induced xerostomia; and Parkinson's program that has completed a Phase II trial. It has a research collaboration agreement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for the research, development, and commercialization of gene therapies for the treatment of inherited retinal disease. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is based in New York, New York.

About Acumen Pharmaceuticals

Acumen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops targeted therapies for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The company focuses on advancing a targeted immunotherapy drug candidate sabirnetug (ACU193), a recombinant humanized immunoglobulin gamma 2 that completed Phase I clinical trial to target soluble amyloid-beta oligomers. The company has a license agreement with Lonza Sales AG to manufacture and commercialize sabirnetug; and a collaboration and license agreement with Halozyme, Inc. for the development of a subcutaneous formulation of sabirnetug. Acumen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia.