Reviewing Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) and Zymeworks (NASDAQ:ZYME)

Vericel (NASDAQ:VCEL) and Zymeworks (NASDAQ:ZYME) are both mid-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

Vericel has a beta of 1.02, suggesting that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zymeworks has a beta of 1.17, suggesting that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Vericel and Zymeworks’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vericel	7.91%	6.91%	5.02%
Zymeworks	-405.31%	-72.30%	-37.18%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

92.9% of Zymeworks shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.6% of Vericel shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 33.5% of Zymeworks shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Vericel and Zymeworks, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vericel	0	2	4	0	2.67
Zymeworks	1	1	12	0	2.79

Vericel presently has a consensus price target of $57.20, suggesting a potential upside of 33.30%. Zymeworks has a consensus price target of $41.67, suggesting a potential upside of 45.13%. Given Zymeworks’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Zymeworks is more favorable than Vericel.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Vericel and Zymeworks”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vericel	$276.26 million	7.95	$16.52 million	$0.47	91.30
Zymeworks	$37.13 million	54.50	-$81.13 million	($2.02)	-14.21

Vericel has higher revenue and earnings than Zymeworks. Zymeworks is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vericel, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About Vericel

Vericel Corporation, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and distribution of cellular therapies for sports medicine and severe burn care markets in North America. The company markets autologous cell therapy products comprising MACI, an autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane for the repair of symptomatic, and single or multiple full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee; Epicel, a permanent skin replacement humanitarian use device for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with deep-dermal or full-thickness burns; and NexoBrid, a biological orphan product for eschar removal in adults with deep partial-thickness and/or full-thickness thermal burns. The company was formerly known as Aastrom Biosciences, Inc. Vericel Corporation was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

About Zymeworks

Zymeworks Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes biotherapeutics for the treatment of cancer. The company’s lead product candidates include zanidatamab, a novel bispecific antibody that is in Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of biliary tract, gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas, and breast cancer; and ZW49, a biparatopic anti- human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) antibody-drug conjugate that is in Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of advanced or metastatic HER2-expressing tumors. The company has strategic partnerships with Merck Sharp & Dohme Research Ltd.; Eli Lilly and Company; Bristol-Myers Squibb company; GlaxoSmithKline Intellectual Property Development Ltd.; Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd.; Janssen Biotech, Inc.; and BeiGene, Ltd. It also has licensing and research collaboration with LEO Pharma A/S to discover and develop bispecific antibodies; and Iconic Therapeutics, Inc. Zymeworks Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.