Analyzing Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) and Cogent Biosciences (NASDAQ:COGT)

Vir Biotechnology (NASDAQ:VIR) and Cogent Biosciences (NASDAQ:COGT) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Vir Biotechnology and Cogent Biosciences, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vir Biotechnology	1	0	7	1	2.89
Cogent Biosciences	1	2	9	2	2.86

Vir Biotechnology presently has a consensus target price of $20.88, indicating a potential upside of 142.45%. Cogent Biosciences has a consensus target price of $43.73, indicating a potential upside of 31.83%. Given Vir Biotechnology’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Vir Biotechnology is more favorable than Cogent Biosciences.

Profitability

This table compares Vir Biotechnology and Cogent Biosciences’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vir Biotechnology	-638.88%	-53.31%	-41.76%
Cogent Biosciences	N/A	-104.27%	-54.64%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

65.3% of Vir Biotechnology shares are held by institutional investors. 2.9% of Vir Biotechnology shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.6% of Cogent Biosciences shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Vir Biotechnology and Cogent Biosciences”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vir Biotechnology	$68.56 million	21.18	-$437.99 million	($3.13)	-2.75
Cogent Biosciences	N/A	N/A	-$328.94 million	($2.17)	-15.29

Cogent Biosciences has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Vir Biotechnology. Cogent Biosciences is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vir Biotechnology, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Vir Biotechnology has a beta of 1.65, meaning that its share price is 65% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cogent Biosciences has a beta of 0.34, meaning that its share price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Vir Biotechnology beats Cogent Biosciences on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vir Biotechnology

Vir Biotechnology, Inc., an immunology company, develops therapeutic products to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. Its clinical development pipeline consists of product candidates targeting hepatitis delta virus (HDV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The company’s preclinical candidates include those targeting influenza A and B, coronavirus disease 2019, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human metapneumovirus (MPV), and human papillomavirus (HPV). The company has grant agreements with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and National Institutes of Health; an option and license agreement with Brii Biosciences Limited; a collaboration and license agreement with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; license agreements with MedImmune, LLC; collaboration with WuXi Biologics (Hong Kong) Limited and Glaxo Wellcome UK Ltd.; and a collaborative research agreement with GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals S.A, as well as license agreement with Sanofi for three clinical-stage masked T-cell engagers (TCEs) and exclusive use of the protease-cleavable masking platform for oncology and infectious diseases. It also has a manufacturing agreement with Samsung Biologics Co.,Ltd. The company was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

About Cogent Biosciences

Cogent Biosciences, Inc., a biotechnology company, focuses on developing precision therapies for genetically defined diseases. Its lead product candidate includes bezuclastinib (CGT9486), a selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor designed to target mutations within the KIT receptor tyrosine kinase, including KIT D816V KIT D816V mutation that drives systemic mastocytosis, as well as other mutations in KIT exon 17, which are found in patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors. The company has a licensing agreement with Plexxikon Inc. for the research, development, and commercialization of bezuclastinib. The company was formerly known as Unum Therapeutics Inc. and changed its name to Cogent Biosciences, Inc. in October 2020. Cogent Biosciences, Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.