Contrasting OKYO Pharma (NASDAQ:OKYO) and Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN)

Agenus (NASDAQ:AGEN) and OKYO Pharma (NASDAQ:OKYO) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Agenus and OKYO Pharma’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Agenus	-144.94%	N/A	-77.23%
OKYO Pharma	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

61.5% of Agenus shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.0% of OKYO Pharma shares are held by institutional investors. 4.6% of Agenus shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 40.5% of OKYO Pharma shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Agenus has a beta of 1.39, meaning that its share price is 39% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, OKYO Pharma has a beta of -0.11, meaning that its share price is 111% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Agenus and OKYO Pharma, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Agenus	0	5	1	0	2.17
OKYO Pharma	0	0	1	0	3.00

Agenus presently has a consensus price target of $10.50, suggesting a potential upside of 153.01%. OKYO Pharma has a consensus price target of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 525.00%. Given OKYO Pharma’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe OKYO Pharma is more favorable than Agenus.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Agenus and OKYO Pharma”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Agenus	$156.31 million	0.57	-$245.76 million	($11.36)	-0.37
OKYO Pharma	N/A	N/A	-$16.83 million	N/A	N/A

OKYO Pharma has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Agenus.

Summary

OKYO Pharma beats Agenus on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Agenus

Agenus Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, discovers and develops immuno-oncology products in the United States and internationally. The company offers Retrocyte Display, an antibody expression platform for the identification of fully human and humanized monoclonal antibodies; and display technologies. It develops QS-21 Stimulon adjuvant, a saponin-based vaccine adjuvant. The company also develops Balstilimab, an anti-PD-1 antagonist that has completed Phase II clinical trial to treat second line cervical cancer; AGEN1181, an antigen 4 (CTLA-4) blocking antibody that is in Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of pancreatic cancer and and melanoma; AGEN2373, a CD137 monospecific antibody that is in Phase 1b clinical trial; AGEN1423, a CD73/TGFß TRAP antibody; AGEN1571, an ILT2 monospecific antibody that is in Phase 1 clinical trial; and BMS-986442, a TIGIT bispecific antibodies. In addition, it develops INCAGN1876, a GITR agonist; INCAGN2390, a TIM-3 monospecific antibody; INCAGN2385, a LAG-3 monospecific antibody; MK-4830, a monospecific antibody targeting ILT4 that is in Phase 2 clinical trial; UGN-301, a zalifrelimab intravesical solution for the treatment of cancers of the urinary tract that is in a Phase 1 clinical trial; and AGEN1884, a first-generation anti-CTLA-4 monospecific antibody. The company operates under Agenus, MiNK, Prophage, Retrocyte Display, and Stimulon trademarks. It has collaborations with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Betta Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Incyte Corporation, Merck Sharpe & Dohme, and Gilead Sciences, Inc. The company was formerly known as Antigenics Inc. and changed its name to Agenus Inc. in January 2011. Agenus Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts.

About OKYO Pharma

OKYO Pharma Limited, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in developing therapeutics for patients suffering from inflammatory eye diseases and ocular pain in the United Kingdom. Its lead preclinical product candidate is OK-101, which is in Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of dry eye disease. The company is also developing OK-201, a bovine adrenal medulla, lipidated-peptide preclinical analogue candidate for the treatment of neuropathic chronic pain. The company was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.