Comparing Tempest Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TPST) and Vaxart (NASDAQ:VXRT)

Tempest Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TPST) and Vaxart (NASDAQ:VXRT) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Tempest Therapeutics and Vaxart’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Tempest Therapeutics	N/A	-310.89%	-125.12%
Vaxart	-122.63%	-91.89%	-38.40%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

22.5% of Tempest Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.0% of Vaxart shares are held by institutional investors. 4.7% of Tempest Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of Vaxart shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Tempest Therapeutics and Vaxart”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Tempest Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$41.84 million	($10.05)	-0.97
Vaxart	$47.40 million	1.92	-$66.95 million	($0.25)	-1.59

Tempest Therapeutics has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Vaxart. Vaxart is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Tempest Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Tempest Therapeutics has a beta of -2.2, meaning that its share price is 320% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vaxart has a beta of 1.32, meaning that its share price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Tempest Therapeutics and Vaxart, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Tempest Therapeutics	1	2	2	0	2.20
Vaxart	0	0	1	0	3.00

Tempest Therapeutics presently has a consensus target price of $30.00, indicating a potential upside of 206.44%. Vaxart has a consensus target price of $2.00, indicating a potential upside of 402.26%. Given Vaxart’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Vaxart is more favorable than Tempest Therapeutics.

Summary

Vaxart beats Tempest Therapeutics on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Tempest Therapeutics

Tempest Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage oncology company, develops small molecule therapeutics that combine both tumor-targeted and immune-mediated mechanisms to treat various tumors. The company's two clinical programs are TPST-1495, a dual antagonist of EP2 and EP4, receptors of prostaglandin E2, which is in a Phase 1 trial to treat cancer; and TPST-1120, a selective antagonist of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha that is in a Phase 1 trial for the treatment of solid tumors. It also develops TREX-1, an enzyme that regulates cGAS/STING pathway signaling and immune recognition. Tempest Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Brisbane, California. Tempest Therapeutics, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Inception Sciences, Inc.

About Vaxart

Vaxart, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, discovers and develops oral recombinant protein vaccines based on its proprietary oral vaccine platform. The company’s product pipeline includes norovirus vaccine, a bivalent oral tablet vaccine in Phase 2 clinical trial for the GI.1 and GII.4 norovirus strains; coronavirus vaccine, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial, for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection; seasonal influenza vaccine, which is in Phase 2 clinical trial, to treat H1 influenza infection; and human papillomavirus therapeutic vaccine, which is in preclinical stage, that targets HPV-16 and HPV-18 for cervical cancers and precancerous cervical lesions. It has a license agreement with Altesa Biosciences, Inc. to develop and commercialize Vapendavir, a capsid-binding broad-spectrum antiviral. Vaxart, Inc. is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.