Head-To-Head Review: Arcellx (NASDAQ:ACLX) & Acumen Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ABOS)

Arcellx (NASDAQ:ACLX) and Acumen Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ABOS) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Arcellx and Acumen Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Arcellx	-38.39%	-13.11%	-7.11%
Acumen Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-22.88%	-20.82%

Volatility and Risk

Arcellx has a beta of 0.23, meaning that its share price is 77% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acumen Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.15, meaning that its share price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Arcellx and Acumen Pharmaceuticals’ revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Arcellx	$110.32 million	26.76	-$70.69 million	($1.03)	-53.58
Acumen Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	-$52.37 million	($1.06)	-2.28

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

96.0% of Arcellx shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.0% of Acumen Pharmaceuticals shares are held by institutional investors. 6.2% of Arcellx shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.1% of Acumen Pharmaceuticals shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Arcellx and Acumen Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Arcellx	0	0	13	1	3.07
Acumen Pharmaceuticals	0	0	4	0	3.00

Arcellx currently has a consensus target price of $78.00, indicating a potential upside of 41.33%. Acumen Pharmaceuticals has a consensus target price of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 395.87%. Given Acumen Pharmaceuticals’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Acumen Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Arcellx.

Summary

Arcellx beats Acumen Pharmaceuticals on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Arcellx

Arcellx, Inc., together with its subsidiary, engages in the development of various immunotherapies for patients with cancer and other incurable diseases in the United States. The company's lead ddCAR product candidate is anitocabtagene autoleucel, which is in phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (rrMM). It also develops ACLX-001, a product candidate in Phase 1 clinical trials targeting BCMA to treat rrMM; and ACLX-002, which is in Phase 1 clinical trials that targets CD123 for treating relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). In addition, the company's preclinical product includes ACLX-003 for the treatment of AML and MDS. Further, it focuses on the development of product candidates for solid tumor programs. It has a strategic alliance with Kite Pharma, Inc. to co-develop and co-commercialize anitocabtagene autoleucel. The company was formerly known as Encarta Therapeutics, Inc. and changed its name to Arcellx, Inc. in January 2016. Arcellx, Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Redwood City, California.

About Acumen Pharmaceuticals

Acumen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers and develops therapies for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The company focuses on advancing a targeted immunotherapy drug candidate ACU193, a humanized monoclonal antibody that is in Phase I clinical-stage to target soluble amyloid-beta oligomers. Acumen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia.