Tourmaline Bio (NASDAQ:TRML) vs. Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX) Critical Survey

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

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%

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

Risk & Volatility

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Vaxcyte and Tourmaline Bio, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vaxcyte	0	0	8	0	3.00
Tourmaline Bio	0	0	7	0	3.00

Vaxcyte currently has a consensus price target of $127.71, suggesting a potential upside of 56.36%. Tourmaline Bio has a consensus price target of $54.67, suggesting a potential upside of 346.26%. Given Tourmaline Bio’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Tourmaline Bio is more favorable than Vaxcyte.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Vaxcyte and Tourmaline Bio”s gross 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)	-17.76
Tourmaline Bio	N/A	N/A	-$42.12 million	($2.82)	-4.34

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.

Summary

Tourmaline Bio beats Vaxcyte on 8 of the 10 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.