Editas Medicine (NASDAQ:EDIT – Get Free Report) and LENZ Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LENZ – Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
71.9% of Editas Medicine shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.3% of LENZ Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.9% of Editas Medicine shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 38.4% of LENZ Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Editas Medicine and LENZ Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Editas Medicine | -239.36% | -47.34% | -33.46% |
| LENZ Therapeutics | N/A | -39.55% | -33.40% |
Analyst Recommendations
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Editas Medicine | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2.50 |
| LENZ Therapeutics | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3.00 |
Editas Medicine currently has a consensus target price of $13.90, suggesting a potential upside of 146.89%. LENZ Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $31.33, suggesting a potential upside of 99.58%. Given Editas Medicine’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Editas Medicine is more favorable than LENZ Therapeutics.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Editas Medicine and LENZ Therapeutics’ gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Editas Medicine | $78.12 million | 5.93 | -$153.22 million | ($2.10) | -2.68 |
| LENZ Therapeutics | N/A | N/A | -$124.65 million | N/A | N/A |
LENZ Therapeutics has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Editas Medicine.
Volatility & Risk
Editas Medicine has a beta of 2.09, suggesting that its stock price is 109% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LENZ Therapeutics has a beta of 0.33, suggesting that its stock price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
LENZ Therapeutics beats Editas Medicine on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Editas Medicine
Editas Medicine, Inc., a clinical stage genome editing company, focuses on developing transformative genomic medicines to treat a range of serious diseases. It develops a proprietary gene editing platform based on CRISPR technology. The company develops EDIT-101, which is in Phase 1/2 BRILLIANCE trial for Leber Congenital Amaurosis; and reni-cel, a clinical development gene-edited medicine to treat sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia. In addition, the company is developing alpha-beta T cells for solid and liquid tumors; and gamma delta T cell therapies to treat cancer. It has a research collaboration with Juno Therapeutics, Inc. to develop engineered T cells for cancer; strategic alliance and option agreement with Allergan Pharmaceuticals International Limited. The company was formerly known as Gengine, Inc. and changed its name to Editas Medicine, Inc. in November 2013. Editas Medicine, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
About LENZ Therapeutics
LENZ Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies to improve vision in the United States. Its product candidates include LNZ100 and LNZ101 which are in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of presbyopia. The company is headquartered in Del Mar, California.
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