Compass Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CMPX) & argenx (NASDAQ:ARGX) Critical Analysis

Compass Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CMPX – Get Rating) and argenx (NASDAQ:ARGX – Get Rating) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Compass Therapeutics and argenx, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Compass Therapeutics	0	0	6	0	3.00
argenx	0	1	17	0	2.94

Compass Therapeutics presently has a consensus target price of $9.05, suggesting a potential upside of 186.39%. argenx has a consensus target price of $454.24, suggesting a potential upside of 12.69%. Given Compass Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Compass Therapeutics is more favorable than argenx.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

54.3% of Compass Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.3% of argenx shares are owned by institutional investors. 29.8% of Compass Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of argenx shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Compass Therapeutics and argenx’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Compass Therapeutics	N/A	-26.60%	-24.34%
argenx	-79.45%	-35.36%	-32.04%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Compass Therapeutics and argenx’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Compass Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$39.22 million	($0.36)	-8.75
argenx	$445.27 million	50.40	-$709.59 million	($9.29)	-43.39

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

Risk and Volatility

Compass Therapeutics has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, argenx has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Compass Therapeutics beats argenx on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Compass Therapeutics

(Get Rating)

Compass Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company, engages in developing antibody-based therapeutics to treat various human diseases. The company's product candidates in the clinical stage of development include CTX-009, an investigational bispecific antibody that blocks Delta-like ligand 4/Notch and vascular endothelial growth factor A signaling pathways, which are critical to angiogenesis and tumor vascularization; and CTX-471, an IgG4 monoclonal antibody that is an agonist of CD137. Its product candidates also comprise CTX-8371, a bispecific inhibitor that targets PD-1 and PD-L1. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

About argenx

(Get Rating)

argenx SE operates as a global immunology company committed to improving the lives of people suffering from severe autoimmune diseases. It operates from the Netherlands, Belgium, the United States of America, Japan, Switzerland, Germany and France. The firm partnering with academic researchers through its Immunology Innovation Program (IIP), argenx aims to translate immunology breakthroughs into a world-class portfolio of novel antibody-based medicines. It evaluates efgartigimod in multiple serious autoimmune diseases and advancing several earlier stage experimental medicines within its therapeutic franchises. The company was founded by Hans J. W. de Haard, Torsten Dreier, and Tim van Hauwermeiren in 2008 and is headquartered in Breda, the Netherlands.