Financial Comparison: Adherex Technologies (NASDAQ:FENC) versus Carisma Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CARM)
by Jessica Moore · The Cerbat GemCarisma Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CARM – Get Free Report) and Adherex Technologies (NASDAQ:FENC – Get Free Report) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.
Profitability
This table compares Carisma Therapeutics and Adherex Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Carisma Therapeutics | -254.28% | N/A | -192.17% |
| Adherex Technologies | -6.09% | -5.71% | -2.37% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Carisma Therapeutics and Adherex Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Carisma Therapeutics | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
| Adherex Technologies | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2.50 |
Adherex Technologies has a consensus price target of $17.00, indicating a potential upside of 55.11%. Given Adherex Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Adherex Technologies is more favorable than Carisma Therapeutics.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
44.3% of Carisma Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.5% of Adherex Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.9% of Carisma Therapeutics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 10.7% of Adherex Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Carisma Therapeutics and Adherex Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Carisma Therapeutics | $10.77 million | 0.00 | -$60.48 million | $0.73 | 0.00 |
| Adherex Technologies | $44.64 million | 8.61 | -$9.74 million | ($0.13) | -84.31 |
Adherex Technologies has higher revenue and earnings than Carisma Therapeutics. Adherex Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Carisma Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility & Risk
Carisma Therapeutics has a beta of -9.02, indicating that its stock price is 1,002% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Adherex Technologies has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Adherex Technologies beats Carisma Therapeutics on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Carisma Therapeutics
Carisma Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage cell therapy company, focuses on discovering and developing immunotherapies to treat cancer and other serious diseases in the United States. The company's ex vivo CAR-M cell therapies include CT-0508, a CAR-macrophage, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial to treat solid tumors; CT-0525, a CAR-monocyte that is in Phase 1 clinical trial to treat solid tumors; and CT-1119, a mesothelin-targeted CAR-Monocyte that is in pre-clinical stage to treat patients with advanced mesothelin-positive solid tumors, including lung cancer, mesothelioma, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, and others. It is also developing in vivo CAR-M cell therapies in collaboration with Moderna Therapeutics to address multiple cancer targets; and multiple assets for the potential treatment of diseases beyond oncology, including fibrosis and other immunologic and inflammatory diseases. The company was formerly known as CARMA Therapeutics Inc. and changed its name to Carisma Therapeutics, Inc. in May 2017. The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
About Adherex Technologies
Fennec Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, develops product candidates for use in the treatment of cancer in the United States. Its lead product candidate is the Sodium Thiosulfate, which has completed the Phase III clinical trial for the prevention of cisplatin induced hearing loss or ototoxicity in children. The company was formerly known as Adherex Technologies Inc. and changed its name to Fennec Pharmaceuticals Inc. in September 2014. Fennec Pharmaceuticals Inc. was founded in 1996 and is based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.