Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) vs. Exscientia (NASDAQ:EXAI) Financial Comparison

Anavex Life Sciences (NASDAQ:AVXL) and Exscientia (NASDAQ:EXAI) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Anavex Life Sciences and Exscientia’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Anavex Life Sciences	N/A	N/A	-$47.51 million	($0.50)	-9.00
Exscientia	$25.60 million	23.38	-$181.56 million	($1.48)	-3.34

Anavex Life Sciences has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Exscientia. Anavex Life Sciences is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Exscientia, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

31.6% of Anavex Life Sciences shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.6% of Exscientia shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.0% of Anavex Life Sciences shares are owned 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.

Profitability

This table compares Anavex Life Sciences and Exscientia’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Anavex Life Sciences	N/A	-29.04%	-26.85%
Exscientia	-737.10%	-36.44%	-26.39%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Anavex Life Sciences and Exscientia, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Anavex Life Sciences	0	0	1	0	3.00
Exscientia	0	2	2	0	2.50

Anavex Life Sciences presently has a consensus target price of $40.00, suggesting a potential upside of 788.89%. Exscientia has a consensus target price of $9.75, suggesting a potential upside of 96.97%. Given Anavex Life Sciences’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Anavex Life Sciences is more favorable than Exscientia.

Risk & Volatility

Anavex Life Sciences has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Exscientia has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Anavex Life Sciences beats Exscientia on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Anavex Life Sciences

Anavex Life Sciences Corp., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development of therapeutics for the treatment of central nervous system diseases. Its lead product candidate is ANAVEX 2-73 for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, as well as other central nervous system diseases, including rare diseases, such as Rett syndrome, a rare severe neurological monogenic disorder; and infantile spasms, Fragile X syndrome, and Angelman syndrome. The company's drug candidate also comprises ANAVEX 3-71, which is in clinical trial for the treatment of schizophrenia, frontotemporal dementia, and Alzheimer's disease. Its preclinical drug candidates include ANAVEX 1-41 for the treatment of depression, stroke, and neurogenerative disease; ANAVEX 1066 for the potential treatment of neuropathic and visceral pain; and ANAVEX 1037 to treat prostate and pancreatic cancer. The company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Exscientia

Exscientia plc, an artificial intelligence (AI) driven Pharma-tech company, engages in design and develop differentiated medicines for diseases with high unmet patient needs. The company's lead product candidate GTAEXS617, a CDK7 inhibitor, which is currently in a Phase 1/2 trial to manage the potential toxicities associated with CDK7 as well as optimizing pharmacokinetics for maximizing on-target efficacy. It is also involved in the development of EXS4318, a PKC-theta inhibitor, under Phase 1 clinical trial for inflammation and immunology indications; EXS74539, a LSD1 inhibitor, under preclinical studies for SCLC, AML, and potential additional indications; EXS73565, a MALT1 inhibitor, under preclinical studies for multiple hematology indications; and DSP-0038, currently in Phase 1 studies. The company has collaboration agreements with Merck KGaA, Bristol Myers Squibb, Sanofi, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Rallybio, and GT Apeiron Therapeutics. Exscientia plc was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Oxford, the United Kingdom.