KalVista Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KALV – Get Free Report) and Mersana Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MRSN – Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares KalVista Pharmaceuticals and Mersana Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| KalVista Pharmaceuticals | N/A | N/A | -$126.64 million | ($3.40) | -3.63 |
| Mersana Therapeutics | $29.94 million | 7.56 | -$171.67 million | ($1.14) | -1.62 |
KalVista Pharmaceuticals has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Mersana Therapeutics. KalVista Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mersana Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| KalVista Pharmaceuticals | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Mersana Therapeutics | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2.88 |
KalVista Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus target price of $26.00, indicating a potential upside of 110.70%. Mersana Therapeutics has a consensus target price of $6.00, indicating a potential upside of 224.32%. Given Mersana Therapeutics’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Mersana Therapeutics is more favorable than KalVista Pharmaceuticals.
Volatility and Risk
KalVista Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mersana Therapeutics has a beta of 1.47, meaning that its share price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
93.9% of Mersana Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 12.3% of KalVista Pharmaceuticals shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.8% of Mersana Therapeutics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares KalVista Pharmaceuticals and Mersana Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| KalVista Pharmaceuticals | N/A | -97.37% | -82.39% |
| Mersana Therapeutics | -349.98% | -333.91% | -48.37% |
Summary
Mersana Therapeutics beats KalVista Pharmaceuticals on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About KalVista Pharmaceuticals
KalVista Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of small molecule protease inhibitors for diseases with unmet needs in the United States. The company's product portfolio comprises small molecule plasma kallikrein inhibitors targeting hereditary angioedema (HAE) and diabetic macular edema (DME); and oral plasma kallikrein inhibitors. Its products include sebetralstat, which is initiation of the Phase 3 KONFIDENT trial as a potential oral, on-demand therapy for HAE attacks; and Factor XIIa, an oral inhibitor program which is in preclinical stage targets an enzyme in HAE. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
About Mersana Therapeutics
Mersana Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, develops antibody drug conjugates (ADC) for cancer patients with unmet needs. The company develops XMT-1660, a B7-H4-targeted Dolasynthen ADC candidate; and XMT-2056, an immunosynthen ADC. It has research and development collaborations with Janssen Biotech, Inc., Ares Trading S.A., Merck KGaA, and Asana BioSciences, LLC for the development of ADC product candidates. The company was formerly known as Nanopharma Corp. and changed its name to Mersana Therapeutics, Inc. in November 2005. Mersana Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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