Financial Comparison: Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR) vs. argenex (NASDAQ:ARGX)
by Kim Johansen · The Markets Dailyargenex (NASDAQ:ARGX – Get Free Report) and Capricor Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CAPR – Get Free Report) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.
Profitability
This table compares argenex and Capricor Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| argenex | 32.19% | 43.59% | 36.66% |
| Capricor Therapeutics | N/A | -56.60% | -43.97% |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares argenex and Capricor Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| argenex | $4.25 billion | 14.76 | $1.29 billion | $26.04 | 38.49 |
| Capricor Therapeutics | $22.27 million | 22.56 | -$105.04 million | ($2.45) | -3.53 |
argenex has higher revenue and earnings than Capricor Therapeutics. Capricor Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than argenex, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
60.3% of argenex shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 21.7% of Capricor Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 2.4% of argenex shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.2% of Capricor Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for argenex and Capricor Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| argenex | 0 | 5 | 17 | 2 | 2.88 |
| Capricor Therapeutics | 1 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2.18 |
argenex presently has a consensus target price of $1,158.61, suggesting a potential upside of 15.59%. Capricor Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $29.15, suggesting a potential upside of 237.38%. Given Capricor Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Capricor Therapeutics is more favorable than argenex.
Volatility and Risk
argenex has a beta of 0.47, suggesting that its share price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Capricor Therapeutics has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
argenex beats Capricor Therapeutics on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About argenex
argenx SE, a biotechnology company, engages in the developing of various therapies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases in the United States, Japan, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and China. Its lead product candidate is efgartigimod for the treatment of patients with myasthenia gravis, immune thrombocytopenia, pemphigus vulgaris, generalized myasthenia gravis, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, thyroid eye disease, bullous pemphigoid, myositis, primary sjögren’s syndrome, post-covid postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, membranous nephropathy, lupus nephropathy, anca-associated vasculitis, and antibody mediated rejection; ENHANZE SC; Empasiprubart for multifocal motor neuropath, delayed graft function, and dermatomyositis; and ARGX-119 for congenital myasthenic syndrome and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The company is developing ARGX-213 targets FcRn; ARGX-121 and ARGX-220 targets immune system; ARGX-109 targets IL-6; ARGX-118 for inflammation; and ARGX-109, as well as cusatuzumab, ARGX-112, ARGX-114, and ARGX-115. It owns VYVGART; VYVGART HYTRULO; VYVDURA; ARGENX; ABDEG; NHANCE; SIMPLE ANTIBODY; and ARGENXMEDHUB. The company has strategic partnership with AbbVie S.À.R.L., Zai Lab Limited, and LEO Pharma A/S; and collaboration and license agreement with Genor Biopharma Co. Ltd, Université Catholique de Louvain, Sopartec S.A., NYU Langone Health, Leiden University Medical Center, AgomAb Therapeutics NV, Broteio Pharma B.V., VIB vzw, University of Texas, BioWa, Inc., and Shire International GmbH. It has collaboration agreement with Genmab A/S to discover, develop, and commercialize novel therapeutic antibodies with applications in immunology and oncology, as well as a strategic collaboration with IQVIA Holdings Inc. to provide safety systems and services. argenx SE was incorporated in 2008 and is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
About Capricor Therapeutics
Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAPR) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of first-in-class biological therapeutics for the treatment of rare disorders. Capricor’s lead candidate, CAP-1002, is an allogeneic cell therapy that is currently in clinical development for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Capricor has also established itself as one of the leading companies investigating the field of extracellular vesicles and is exploring the potential of CAP-2003, a cell-free, exosome-based candidate, to treat a variety of disorders.