Head-To-Head Analysis: Cardio Diagnostics (NASDAQ:CDIO) vs. HCW Biologics (NASDAQ:HCWB)

Cardio Diagnostics (NASDAQ:CDIO) and HCW Biologics (NASDAQ:HCWB) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership and valuation.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Cardio Diagnostics and HCW Biologics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cardio Diagnostics	$10,000.00	580.16	-$6.50 million	($2.92)	-0.67
HCW Biologics	$50,000.00	61.82	-$7.96 million	($27.60)	-0.06

Cardio Diagnostics has higher earnings, but lower revenue than HCW Biologics. Cardio Diagnostics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than HCW Biologics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Cardio Diagnostics has a beta of 2.29, indicating that its stock price is 129% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, HCW Biologics has a beta of 2.41, indicating that its stock price is 141% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Cardio Diagnostics and HCW Biologics, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cardio Diagnostics	1	0	0	0	1.00
HCW Biologics	1	0	1	0	2.00

HCW Biologics has a consensus target price of $30.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1,685.71%. Given HCW Biologics’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe HCW Biologics is more favorable than Cardio Diagnostics.

Profitability

This table compares Cardio Diagnostics and HCW Biologics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cardio Diagnostics	-43,133.33%	-82.28%	-76.03%
HCW Biologics	-83.03%	-262.33%	-34.90%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

8.1% of Cardio Diagnostics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.0% of HCW Biologics shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.0% of Cardio Diagnostics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.1% of HCW Biologics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

HCW Biologics beats Cardio Diagnostics on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cardio Diagnostics

Cardio Diagnostics Holdings, Inc. develops and commercializes epigenetics-based clinical tests for cardiovascular disease. It offers Epi+Gen CHD, a three-year symptomatic coronary heart disease (CHD) risk assessment test targeting CHD events, including heart attacks; and PrecisionCHD, an integrated epigenetic-genetic blood test for the early detection of coronary heart disease. Cardio Diagnostics Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

About HCW Biologics

HCW Biologics Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on discovering and developing novel immunotherapies for chronic, low-grade inflammation, and age-related diseases in the United States. The company's lead products include HCW9218, which is in Phase 1 clinical chemo-refractory/chemo-resistant solid tumors with pancreatic, ovarian, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers, as well as Phase 2 clinical trial with metastatic advanced stage ovarian cancer patients; and HCW9302 for autoimmune and proinflammatory diseases, such as alopecia areata diseases. It also develops HCW9201, a cell-based therapy that is in Phase I clinical trials for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory acute myelogenous leukemia; and HCW9206, an injectable immunotherapeutic to use as adjuvant for adoptive cell therapy in cancer treatment. HCW Biologics Inc. was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Miramar, Florida.