Comparing Sangamo Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SGMO) and Compass Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CMPX)

Compass Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CMPX) and Sangamo Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SGMO) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

Compass Therapeutics has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sangamo Therapeutics has a beta of 1.4, suggesting that its share price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

68.4% of Compass Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.9% of Sangamo Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 30.0% of Compass Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Sangamo Therapeutics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Compass Therapeutics and Sangamo Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Compass Therapeutics	N/A	-26.07%	-24.49%
Sangamo Therapeutics	-146.30%	-82.17%	-56.21%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Compass Therapeutics and Sangamo Therapeutics’ revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Compass Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$42.49 million	($0.34)	-5.00
Sangamo Therapeutics	$176.23 million	0.65	-$257.83 million	($1.47)	-0.38

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Compass Therapeutics and Sangamo Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Compass Therapeutics	0	0	2	0	3.00
Sangamo Therapeutics	0	3	3	0	2.50

Compass Therapeutics presently has a consensus price target of $9.00, suggesting a potential upside of 429.41%. Sangamo Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $5.67, suggesting a potential upside of 919.55%. Given Sangamo Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Sangamo Therapeutics is more favorable than Compass Therapeutics.

Summary

Compass Therapeutics beats Sangamo Therapeutics on 8 of the 13 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 Sangamo Therapeutics

Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage genomic medicine company, focuses on translating science into medicines that transform the lives of patients and families afflicted with serious diseases in the United States. The company's clinical-stage product candidates are ST-920, a gene therapy product candidate, which is in Phase 1/2 clinical study for the treatment of Fabry disease; TX200, a chimeric antigen receptor engineered regulatory T cell (CAR-Treg) therapy product candidate that is in Phase 1/2 clinical study for the prevention of immune-mediated rejection in HLA-A2 mismatched kidney transplantation; SB-525, a gene therapy product candidate, which is in Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of moderately severe to severe hemophilia A; BIVV003, a zinc finger nuclease gene-edited cell therapy product candidate that is in Phase 1/2 PRECIZN-1 clinical study for the treatment of sickle cell disease. Its preclinical development products focus on CAR-Treg cell therapies for autoimmune disorders and genome engineering for neurological diseases. Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. has collaborative and strategic partnerships with Biogen MA, Inc.; Kite Pharma, Inc.; Pfizer Inc.; Sanofi S.A.; Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc.; Shire International GmbH; Dow AgroSciences LLC; Sigma-Aldrich Corporation; Genentech, Inc.; Open Monoclonal Technology, Inc.; and California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The company was formerly known as Sangamo BioSciences, Inc. and changed its name to Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. in January 2017. Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Richmond, California.