Reviewing Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) & Tourmaline Bio (NASDAQ:TRML)

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) and Tourmaline Bio (NASDAQ:TRML) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Vaxcyte and Tourmaline Bio’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vaxcyte	N/A	-23.53%	-22.20%
Tourmaline Bio	N/A	-20.97%	-20.56%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Vaxcyte and Tourmaline Bio”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vaxcyte	N/A	N/A	-$402.27 million	($4.60)	-18.26
Tourmaline Bio	N/A	N/A	-$42.12 million	($2.82)	-4.90

Vaxcyte is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Tourmaline Bio, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Vaxcyte and Tourmaline Bio, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vaxcyte	0	0	8	0	3.00
Tourmaline Bio	0	0	6	0	3.00

Vaxcyte presently has a consensus target price of $127.71, indicating a potential upside of 52.04%. Tourmaline Bio has a consensus target price of $54.00, indicating a potential upside of 290.46%. Given Tourmaline Bio’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Tourmaline Bio is more favorable than Vaxcyte.

Risk & Volatility

Vaxcyte has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tourmaline Bio has a beta of 2.32, meaning that its share price is 132% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

96.8% of Vaxcyte shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.9% of Tourmaline Bio shares are held by institutional investors. 3.1% of Vaxcyte shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.0% of Tourmaline Bio shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Tourmaline Bio beats Vaxcyte on 7 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vaxcyte

Vaxcyte, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology vaccine company, develops novel protein vaccines to prevent or treat bacterial infectious diseases. Its lead vaccine candidate is VAX-24, a 24-valent investigational pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease. The company also develops VAX-31 to protect against emerging strains and to help address antibiotic resistance; VAX-A1, a novel conjugate vaccine candidate to prevent disease caused by Group A Streptococcus; VAX-PG, a novel protein vaccine candidate targeting keystone pathogen responsible for periodontitis; and VAX-GI to prevent Shigella, a bacterial illness. The company was formerly known as SutroVax, Inc. and changed its name to Vaxcyte, Inc. in May 2020. Vaxcyte, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in San Carlos, California.

About Tourmaline Bio

Tourmaline Bio, Inc. operates as a clinical biotechnology company that develops medicines for patients with life-altering immune and inflammatory diseases. It develops TOUR006, a human anti-IL-6 monoclonal antibody that selectively binds to interleukin-6, a key proinflammatory cytokine involved in the pathogenesis of many autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. The company's development pipeline comprises medicines and therapies for the atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and thyroid eye disease (TED). The company was formerly known as Tourmaline Bio, LLC and changed its name to Tourmaline Bio, Inc. in September 2022. Tourmaline Bio, Inc. was founded in 2021 and is headquartered in New York, New York.