Head-To-Head Contrast: Longeveron (NASDAQ:LGVN) and Design Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DSGN)

Design Therapeutics (NASDAQ:DSGN) and Longeveron (NASDAQ:LGVN) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, earnings and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Design Therapeutics and Longeveron’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Design Therapeutics	N/A	-20.79%	-19.89%
Longeveron	-2,129.24%	-300.96%	-164.96%

Analyst Ratings

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Design Therapeutics	0	5	1	0	2.17
Longeveron	0	0	1	0	3.00

Design Therapeutics currently has a consensus price target of $6.60, suggesting a potential upside of 104.33%. Longeveron has a consensus price target of $12.00, suggesting a potential upside of 601.75%. Given Longeveron’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Longeveron is more favorable than Design Therapeutics.

Volatility and Risk

Design Therapeutics has a beta of 1.87, meaning that its stock price is 87% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Longeveron has a beta of 0.33, meaning that its stock price is 67% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Design Therapeutics and Longeveron’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Design Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$66.86 million	($1.05)	-3.08
Longeveron	$710,000.00	15.29	-$21.41 million	($9.61)	-0.18

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

56.6% of Design Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.0% of Longeveron shares are held by institutional investors. 31.2% of Design Therapeutics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 19.1% of Longeveron shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Design Therapeutics beats Longeveron on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Design Therapeutics

Design Therapeutics, Inc. a biopharmaceutical company, researches, designs, develops, and commercializes small molecule therapeutic drugs for the treatment of genetic diseases in the United States. The company utilizes its GeneTAC platform to design and develop therapeutic candidates for inherited diseases caused by nucleotide repeat expansion. Its lead product candidates for potentially disease-modifying treatment comprises Friedreich Ataxia, a monogenic, autosomal recessive, progressive multi-system disease that affects organ systems dependent on mitochondrial function that brings to neurological, cardiac, and metabolic dysfunction; Myotonic Dystrophy Type-1, a dominantly-inherited, monogenic progressive neuromuscular disease affecting skeletal muscle, heart, brain, and other organs; Fuchs Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy, a genetic eye disease characterized by bilateral degeneration of corneal endothelial cells and progressive loss of vision; and Huntington's Disease, a dominantly inherited, monogenic neurodegenerative disease characterized by movement, cognitive, and psychiatric disorders. Design Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in Carlsbad, California.

About Longeveron

Longeveron Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company, develops cellular therapies for aging-related and life-threatening conditions in the United States and Japan. The company's lead investigational product is the LOMECEL-B, an allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell formulation sourced from the bone marrow of young and healthy adult donors. It is conducting Phase 1, Phase 1/2, Phase 2a, and Phase 2b clinical trials in various indications, such as aging-related frailty, alzheimer's disease, and hypoplastic left heart syndrome. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.