Analyzing Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) & Shattuck Labs (NASDAQ:STTK)

Shattuck Labs (NASDAQ:STTK) and Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Shattuck Labs and Geron’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Shattuck Labs	N/A	-43.57%	-40.90%
Geron	-34.17%	-24.48%	-10.30%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Shattuck Labs and Geron”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Shattuck Labs	$1.00 million	550.57	-$48.81 million	($0.51)	-14.08
Geron	$183.88 million	5.33	-$83.50 million	($0.11)	-13.86

Shattuck Labs has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Geron. Shattuck Labs is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Geron, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Shattuck Labs has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Geron has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Shattuck Labs and Geron, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Shattuck Labs	1	0	10	0	2.82
Geron	1	2	2	0	2.20

Shattuck Labs presently has a consensus price target of $12.12, indicating a potential upside of 68.87%. Geron has a consensus price target of $4.00, indicating a potential upside of 162.30%. Given Geron’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Geron is more favorable than Shattuck Labs.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

58.7% of Shattuck Labs shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.7% of Geron shares are held by institutional investors. 8.8% of Shattuck Labs shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Geron shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

About Shattuck Labs

Shattuck Labs, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune disease in the United States. The company's lead product candidate is SL-172154, which is in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancers. Shattuck Labs, Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

About Geron

Geron Corporation, a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for myeloid hematologic malignancies. It develops imetelstat, a telomerase inhibitor that is in Phase 3 clinical trials, which inhibits the uncontrolled proliferation of malignant stem and progenitor cells in myeloid hematologic malignancies for the treatment of low or intermediate-1 risk myelodysplastic syndromes and intermediate-2 or high-risk myelofibrosis. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Foster City, California.