Head to Head Analysis: Biodesix (NASDAQ:BDSX) versus Grail (NASDAQ:GRAL)

Grail (NASDAQ:GRAL) and Biodesix (NASDAQ:BDSX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, valuation, dividends and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

21.0% of Biodesix shares are held by institutional investors. 69.2% of Biodesix shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Grail and Biodesix’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Grail	N/A	N/A	N/A
Biodesix	-66.84%	-275.79%	-43.05%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Grail and Biodesix, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Grail	0	3	0	0	2.00
Biodesix	0	0	5	0	3.00

Grail currently has a consensus target price of $16.00, suggesting a potential downside of 43.42%. Biodesix has a consensus target price of $3.06, suggesting a potential upside of 206.00%. Given Biodesix’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Biodesix is more favorable than Grail.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Grail and Biodesix”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Grail	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Biodesix	$49.09 million	2.96	-$52.15 million	($0.39)	-2.56

Grail has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Biodesix.

Summary

Biodesix beats Grail on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Grail

GRAIL, Inc. is a healthcare company. It engages in the development of a technology for early detection of cancer. The company was founded by Jeffrey T. Huber, William H. Rastetter, and Mostafa Ronaghi on September 11, 2015 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA.

About Biodesix

Biodesix, Inc. operates as a data-driven diagnostic solutions company in the United States. The company offers blood-based lung tests, including Nodify XL2 and Nodify CDT tests, together marketed as part of Nodify Lung Nodule Risk Assessment testing strategy, to assess the risk of lung cancer and help in identifying the appropriate treatment pathway and help physicians in reclassifying risk of malignancy in patients with suspicious lung nodules. It also provides GeneStrat ddPCR and NGS, and VeriStrat tests, which are used in the diagnosis of lung cancer to measure the presence of mutations in the tumor and the state of the patient's immune system to establish the patient's prognosis and help guide treatment decisions. In addition, the company, through its partnership with Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., provides Bio-Rad SARS-CoV-2 ddPCR, a COVID-19 Test under Biodesix WorkSafe testing program; and Platelia SARS-CoV-2 Total Ab test, an antibody test for detecting a B-cell immune response to SARS-CoV-2 that indicate recent or prior infection. Further, it offers diagnostic and clinical research, as well as clinical trial testing services to biopharmaceutical companies; and discovers, develops, and commercializes companion diagnostics. The company was formerly known as Elston Technologies, Inc. and as changed to Biodesix, Inc. in 2006. Biodesix, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Louisville, Colorado.