Reviewing Fate Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FATE) and argenx (NASDAQ:ARGX)

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fate Therapeutics	-171.64%	-45.62%	-32.49%
argenx	-79.45%	-35.36%	-32.04%

Volatility & Risk

Fate Therapeutics has a beta of 1.49, suggesting that its share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, argenx has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

57.3% of argenx shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.0% of Fate Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of argenx shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Fate Therapeutics and argenx’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fate Therapeutics	$96.30 million	5.15	-$281.72 million	($2.42)	-2.08
argenx	$445.27 million	50.15	-$709.59 million	($9.29)	-43.17

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Fate Therapeutics and argenx, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fate Therapeutics	2	15	5	0	2.14
argenx	0	1	17	0	2.94

Fate Therapeutics currently has a consensus price target of $16.24, suggesting a potential upside of 222.13%. argenx has a consensus price target of $454.24, suggesting a potential upside of 13.26%. Given Fate Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Fate Therapeutics is more favorable than argenx.

Summary

argenx beats Fate Therapeutics on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fate Therapeutics

(Get Rating)

Fate Therapeutics, Inc. engages in the development of programmed cellular immunotherapies for cancer and immune disorder. Its pipeline of products includes immuno-ocology candidates and immuno-regulation candidates. The company was founded by Philip Beachy, Sheng Ding, Rudolf Jaenisch, Randall T. Moon, Michael Rudnicki, David Scadden, Leonard Zon, Alexander Rives, Scott Wolchko, and John D. Mendlein on April 27, 2007 and is headquartered in San Diego, CA.

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.