Kineta (NASDAQ:KA) and Trevena (NASDAQ:TRVN) Head-To-Head Review

Kineta (NASDAQ:KA) and Trevena (NASDAQ:TRVN) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

30.3% of Kineta shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.6% of Trevena shares are owned by institutional investors. 29.8% of Kineta shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of Trevena shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Kineta and Trevena’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kineta	N/A	-453.89%	-118.90%
Trevena	N/A	-1,018.15%	-98.93%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Kineta and Trevena, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kineta	0	0	1	0	3.00
Trevena	0	0	1	0	3.00

Kineta currently has a consensus price target of $8.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1,167.23%. Trevena has a consensus price target of $9.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1,997.90%. Given Trevena’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Trevena is more favorable than Kineta.

Volatility and Risk

Kineta has a beta of 0.49, indicating that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Trevena has a beta of 1.11, indicating that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Kineta and Trevena’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kineta	$5.44 million	1.32	-$14.10 million	($1.38)	-0.46
Trevena	$3.13 million	2.52	-$40.29 million	($3.13)	-0.14

Kineta has higher revenue and earnings than Trevena. Kineta is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Trevena, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Kineta beats Trevena on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kineta

Kineta, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company with a focus on developing immunotherapies that transform patients' lives. It focuses on developing potentially differentiated immunotherapies that address the challenges with current cancer therapy. The company's immuno-oncology pipeline includes KVA12123, a VISTA blocking immunotherapy in development as a twice weekly monoclonal antibody (mAb) infusion drug. KVA12123 is being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial as a monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with advanced solid tumors, including non-small cell lung, ovarian, head and neck, renal cell, and colorectal cancers. It is also developing anti-CD27 agonist mAb immunotherapy, which is in preclinical development for advanced solid tumors, such as renal cell carcinoma, ovarian, and colorectal cancers. The company has collaboration and license agreements with MSD International Business GmbH, Genentech, Inc., FAIR Therapeutics B.V., and GigaGen, Inc. Kineta, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

About Trevena

Trevena, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of novel medicines for patients affected by central nervous system disorders. Its lead product candidates include OLINVYK (Oliceridine) injection, a G protein biased mu-opioid receptor (MOR) ligand for the management of moderate-to-severe acute pain; TRV250, a G protein biased delta-opioid receptor agonist for the treatment of acute migraine; TRV734, a small molecule G protein biased ligand of the MOR for the treatment of moderate-to-severe acute and chronic pain; and TRV045, a novel S1P modulator for managing chronic pain. Trevena, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania.