Compass Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CMPX) vs. Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) Head-To-Head Review
by Michael Walen · The Markets DailyCompass Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CMPX – Get Free Report) and Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL – Get Free Report) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.
Volatility & Risk
Compass Therapeutics has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vericel has a beta of 1.04, suggesting that its share price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Compass Therapeutics and Vericel, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Compass Therapeutics | 1 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 2.88 |
| Vericel | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2.57 |
Compass Therapeutics presently has a consensus price target of $11.77, suggesting a potential upside of 500.47%. Vericel has a consensus price target of $58.40, suggesting a potential upside of 47.47%. Given Compass Therapeutics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Compass Therapeutics is more favorable than Vericel.
Profitability
This table compares Compass Therapeutics and Vericel’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Compass Therapeutics | N/A | -38.71% | -34.72% |
| Vericel | 7.91% | 6.91% | 5.02% |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Compass Therapeutics and Vericel”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Compass Therapeutics | $850,000.00 | 415.27 | -$66.49 million | ($0.40) | -4.90 |
| Vericel | $276.26 million | 7.34 | $16.52 million | $0.47 | 84.26 |
Vericel has higher revenue and earnings than Compass Therapeutics. Compass Therapeutics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vericel, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
68.4% of Compass Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.7% of Compass Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.6% of Vericel shares are owned by company 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.
Summary
Vericel beats Compass Therapeutics on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Compass Therapeutics
Compass Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage oncology-focused biopharmaceutical company, engages in developing antibody-based therapeutics to treat various human diseases in the United States. The company's lead product candidates include CTX-009, a bispecific antibody that blocks Delta-like ligand 4 a ligand of Notch-1, 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, a key co-stimulatory receptor on immune cells. It also develops CTX-8371, a bispecific inhibitor that targets PD-1 and PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor antibodies. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
About Vericel
Vericel Corporation, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and distribution of cellular therapies for sports medicine and severe burn care markets in North America. The company markets autologous cell therapy products comprising MACI, an autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane for the repair of symptomatic, and single or multiple full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee; Epicel, a permanent skin replacement humanitarian use device for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with deep-dermal or full-thickness burns; and NexoBrid, a biological orphan product for eschar removal in adults with deep partial-thickness and/or full-thickness thermal burns. The company was formerly known as Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. Vericel Corporation was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.