7 Undervalued Biotechnology & Medical Research Stocks for Thursday, May 02

By Eunice Kim
May 02, 2024
Diamond graphic indicating best value stocks in their industry
Featured Tickers:
ACHL AEZS ESLA REVB SQZB XCUR XLO

Based on key financial metrics such as the price-to-sales ratio, shareholder yield and the price-earnings ratio, the following 7 stocks made the list for top value stocks in the Biotechnology & Medical Research industry. Those looking for value stocks to add to their portfolio may want to use this list as a starting point for further investment research.

Why Focus on Undervalued Biotechnology & Medical Research Stocks?

Value investors seek to buy stocks at a discount to their intrinsic value. Long-term returns show that such strategies are advantageous. Value stocks, as a group, tend to outperform growth stocks over extended periods of time. Typically, value investors perform financial analysis of numerous metrics, don’t follow the herd and are long-term investors.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade is derived from a stock’s Value Score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

What Goes Into AAII’s Value Grade?

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data as well as the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movement. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors with that task.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A–F grades for more than just value. It is possible for a stock to appear cheap based on one valuation metric but appear expensive on another. It is also possible for one valuation ratio to be associated with outperforming stocks during certain periods of time but not others. Some stocks may even have null values for certain metrics like the price-earnings ratio or the price-to-book ratio but not others. An example of this would be a company with losses instead of profits or a negative book value because of heavy borrowing. Negative earnings or book value result in non-meaningful ratios that are left blank or null.

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7 Undervalued Biotechnology & Medical Research Stocks

Of course, there are countless value stocks that are worth mentioning, but this is a concise list of the top 7 undervalued stocks in the Biotechnology & Medical Research industry for Thursday, May 02, 2024. Let’s take a closer look at their individual scores to see how they measure up against each other and the Biotechnology & Medical Research industry median.

Company Ticker Price/Sales Price/Earnings EV/EBITDA Shareholder Yield Price/Book Value Price/Free Cash Flow Value Grade
Achilles Therapeutics PLC (ADR) ACHL na na 1.4 (2.4%) 0.22 na A
AEterna Zentaris Inc. (USA) AEZS 2.26 na 1.2 0.0% 0.56 na A
Estrella Immunopharma Inc ESLA na na 4.7 82.0% 0.11 na A
Revelation Biosciences Inc REVB na na 1.0 (856.5%) 0.07 na B
SQZ Biotechnologies Co SQZB 0.12 na 0.1 (0.7%) 0.78 na A
Exicure Inc XCUR 0.18 0.4 2.0 (87.2%) 0.44 na A
Xilio Therapeutics Inc XLO na na 0.3 (0.5%) 0.81 na A

The Value Grade is assigned based on how each stock’s composite valuation compares to all other stocks.

The process for assigning grades starts with each variable for a given stock. The percentile rankings for all valid ratios that a stock has are calculated. So, for instance, a stock could have a price-to-book ranking in the 43rd percentile, a price-earnings ranking in the 67th percentile, a price-to-sales ranking in the 23rd percentile, etc. Then, those rankings are averaged for each stock. (A minimum of two valid variables are required, though all six will be used if available.)

Once the average of the individual variables is calculated, that average is ranked against all stocks. Put another way, each stock’s composite valuation is compared to all other stocks. These ranks are then sorted into quintiles from the cheapest 20% (a grade of A) to the most expensive 20% (a grade of F).

As always, we recommend that you conduct proper due diligence and research before investing in any security. We also suggest that investors utilize numerous grades, not just value, when it comes to deciding whether a company is a good fit for their allocation needs.

Achilles Therapeutics PLC (ADR)’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score ACHL Industry Median
Price/Sales na na 8.63
Price/Earnings na na 25.6
EV/EBITDA 4 1.4 0.9
Shareholder Yield 67 (2.4%) (11.2%)
Price/Book Value 3 0.22 2.01
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 22.4

Achilles Therapeutics plc is a United Kingdom-based clinical-stage immuno-oncology biopharmaceutical company. The Company is engaged in developing precision T cell therapies to treat multiple types of solid tumors. Its lead product is a precision tumor-derived T cell therapy targeting clonal cancer neoantigens. Its pipeline includes Chiron: Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, Thetis: Melanoma (Monotherapy), Thetis: Melanoma (PD-1 Combination), and other indications. It is focused on advancing cancer therapies through its work in the field of tumor evolution. Its platform enables to identify mutations formed early in the development of a cancer that give rise to antigens that are expressed by all of a patient's cancer cells but are absent from healthy tissue. It refers to this class of solid tumor targets as clonal neoantigens. To identify clonal neoantigens in a patient, it has developed a bioinformatic platform called PELEUS.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Achilles Therapeutics PLC (ADR) has a Value Score of 91, which is considered to be undervalued.

Now, let’s assess Achilles Therapeutics PLC (ADR)’s EV/EBITDA ratio, also known as enterprise multiple. At 1.4, when compared to the industry median of 0.9, the company may be considered overvalued in relation to its peers. Value investors could use the enterprise multiple to identify stocks that are considered overvalued or undervalued relative to their industry.

Shareholder yield is the sum of a stock’s dividend yield (paid over previous 12 months minus special dividends) and the percentage of net share buybacks over the previous 12 months. Achilles Therapeutics PLC (ADR)’s shareholder yield is higher than its industry median ratio of (11.22%). Value investors may look for an attractive shareholder yield because it can be a powerful tool for identifying if the company has a good management team.

As one of the most common value metrics, the price-to-book ratio evaluates a company’s current market price relative to its book value. Achilles Therapeutics PLC (ADR)’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 2.01. This could make Achilles Therapeutics PLC (ADR) more attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

AEterna Zentaris Inc. (USA)’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score AEZS Industry Median
Price/Sales 61 2.26 8.63
Price/Earnings na na 25.6
EV/EBITDA 3 1.2 0.9
Shareholder Yield 48 0.0% (11.2%)
Price/Book Value 12 0.56 2.01
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 22.4

Aeterna Zentaris Inc. is a Canada-based specialty biopharmaceutical company. The Company is developing and commercializing a diversified portfolio of pharmaceutical and diagnostic products focused on areas of significant unmet medical need. The Company's lead product, macimorelin (Macrilen, Ghryvelin), is an oral test indicated for the diagnosis of adult growth hormone deficiency (AGHD). The Company is also leveraging the clinical and compelling safety profile of macimorelin to develop it for the diagnosis of childhood-onset growth hormone deficiency (CGHD). The Company is engaged in the development of its therapeutic asset and has established a pre-clinical development pipeline to potentially address unmet medical needs across a number of indications, including neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), Parkinson's disease (PD), hypoparathyroidism and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Its therapeutic development pipeline includes AIM Biologicals, AEZS-150 and AEZS-130.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

AEterna Zentaris Inc. (USA) has a Value Score of 81, which is considered to be undervalued.

AEterna Zentaris Inc. (USA)’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make AEterna Zentaris Inc. (USA) less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 2.01.

You can read more about AEterna Zentaris Inc. (USA)’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Estrella Immunopharma Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score ESLA Industry Median
Price/Sales na na 8.63
Price/Earnings na na 25.6
EV/EBITDA 14 4.7 0.9
Shareholder Yield 0 82.0% (11.2%)
Price/Book Value 1 0.11 2.01
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 22.4

Estrella Immunopharma, Inc. is a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. The Company is developing CD19 and CD22-targeted ARTEMIS T-cell therapies with the capacity to address treatment challenges for patients with blood cancers and solid tumors. Its lead product candidate, EB103, utilizes Eureka's ARTEMIS technology to target CD19, a protein expressed on the surface of almost all B-cell leukemias and lymphomas. The Company is also developing EB104, which also utilizes Eureka's ARTEMIS technology to target not only CD19, but also CD22, a protein that, like CD19, is expressed on the surface of most B-cell malignancies. The Company is also collaborating with Imugene Limited and its product candidate, CF33-CD19t an oncolytic virus (CF33-CD19t), to research the use of EB103 in conjunction with CF33-CD19t to treat solid tumors.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Estrella Immunopharma Inc has a Value Score of 100, which is considered to be undervalued.

Estrella Immunopharma Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Estrella Immunopharma Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 2.01.

You can read more about Estrella Immunopharma Inc’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Revelation Biosciences Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score REVB Industry Median
Price/Sales na na 8.63
Price/Earnings na na 25.6
EV/EBITDA 3 1.0 0.9
Shareholder Yield 100 (856.5%) (11.2%)
Price/Book Value 1 0.07 2.01
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 22.4

Revelation Biosciences, Inc. is a clinical-stage life sciences company engaged in the development of innate immune system therapeutics and diagnostics. Its therapeutic candidates are based on its Gemini formulation of active ingredient phosphorylated hexaacyl disaccharide (PHAD), a synthetic version of monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) that is known to stimulate Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4). Its product candidates include Gemini-SSI, which is being developed for the prevention and treatment of surgical sit infection; Gemini-AKI, which is being developed as a potential therapy for the prevention and treatment of acute kidney injury as a result of cardiac surgery; and Gemini-CKD, which is being developed as a potential therapy for the prevention and treatment of chronic kidney disease. Stimulation of TLR4 via Gemini leads to a controlled production of varied cytokines and chemokines which modulate the activity of the innate and adaptive immune response, relative to Lipopolysaccharides (LPS).

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Revelation Biosciences Inc has a Value Score of 74, which is considered to be undervalued.

Revelation Biosciences Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Revelation Biosciences Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 2.01.

You can read more about Revelation Biosciences Inc’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

SQZ Biotechnologies Co’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score SQZB Industry Median
Price/Sales 5 0.12 8.63
Price/Earnings na na 25.6
EV/EBITDA 0 0.1 0.9
Shareholder Yield 56 (0.7%) (11.2%)
Price/Book Value 21 0.78 2.01
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 22.4

SQZ Biotechnologies Company is a clinical-stage biotechnology company. The Company is focused on unlocking the full potential of cell therapies to benefit patients. In oncology, it is developing cell therapy platforms that are based on directing tumor antigen-specific immune activation via engineered antigen presentation. Its clinical-stage cell therapy candidates include SQZ Enhanced APC (eAPC) Platform, SQZ Activating Antigen Carrier (AAC) Platform and SQZ Tolerizing Antigen Carrier (TAC) Platform. The SQZ eAPC platform is the second-generation product candidate designed to generate tumor specific CD8+ T cell activation to drive the antitumor immune response. The SQZ AAC platform is designed to induce antigen presentation in vivo by deriving antigen carriers from engineering red blood cells (RBCs) with tumor specific antigens and adjuvants. Its SQZ TAC platform is designed to induce antigen-specific immune tolerance in vivo by utilizing a similar approach to the AAC platform.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

SQZ Biotechnologies Co has a Value Score of 95, which is considered to be undervalued.

SQZ Biotechnologies Co’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make SQZ Biotechnologies Co less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 2.01.

You can read more about SQZ Biotechnologies Co’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Exicure Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score XCUR Industry Median
Price/Sales 7 0.18 8.63
Price/Earnings 0 0.4 25.6
EV/EBITDA 5 2.0 0.9
Shareholder Yield 94 (87.2%) (11.2%)
Price/Book Value 9 0.44 2.01
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 22.4

Exicure, Inc. is an early-stage biotechnology company focused on developing nucleic acid therapies targeting ribonucleic acid against validated targets. The Company is developing nucleic acid therapies targeting ribonucleic acid (RNA) to address both genetic and non-genetic neurological disorders. Its lead program is a non-opioid pain analgesic directed against the genetically validated target SCN9A. It is engaged in discovery efforts across a range of indications and therapeutic targets, such as pain using non-opioid analgesics, as well as rare neurological genetic disorders, including Huntington's disease, Angelman Syndrome, Batten disease, spinocerebellar ataxia, and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The Company focuses on pursuing out-licensing opportunities for its clinical asset, cavrotolimod, as well as for its preclinical candidates, including the SCN9A program for neuropathic pain.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Exicure Inc has a Value Score of 93, which is considered to be undervalued.

Exicure Inc’s price-earnings ratio is 0.4 compared to the industry median at 25.6. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Exicure Inc more attractive for value investors.

Exicure Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Exicure Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 2.01.

You can read more about Exicure Inc’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Xilio Therapeutics Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score XLO Industry Median
Price/Sales na na 8.63
Price/Earnings na na 25.6
EV/EBITDA 1 0.3 0.9
Shareholder Yield 54 (0.5%) (11.2%)
Price/Book Value 22 0.81 2.01
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 22.4

Xilio Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company. The Company is engaged in discovering and developing tumor-activated immuno-oncology (I-O) therapies with the goal of improving outcomes for people living with cancer without the systemic side effects of current I-O treatments. The Company is using its proprietary platform to advance a pipeline of novel, tumor-activated clinical and preclinical I-O molecules that are designed to optimize the therapeutic index by localizing anti-tumor activity within the tumor microenvironment, including tumor-activated cytokines and antibodies (including bispecifics) and immune cell engagers (including tumor-activated cell engagers and tumor-activated effector-enhanced cell engagers). Its product pipeline includes XTX101, XTX301, XTX202, XTX501, and tumor-activated bispecific molecules and immune cell engager molecules. XTX101 is an investigational tumor-activated, Fc-enhanced, high affinity binding anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Xilio Therapeutics Inc has a Value Score of 90, which is considered to be undervalued.

Xilio Therapeutics Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Xilio Therapeutics Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 2.01.

You can read more about Xilio Therapeutics Inc’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

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Other Biotechnology & Medical Research Stock Grades

Value is just one of the five Stock Grades included in our A+ Investor service. AAII members can see the top-graded stocks—those with grades of A or B for value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality—on the A+ Stock Grades Screener.

Also, if you want full access to all of AAII’s premium services, you can subscribe to one convenient bundled plan called AAII Platinum where you can try out A+ Investor, AAII Dividend Investing, the Stock Superstars Report, Growth Investing and VMQ Stocks. With the other premium services, you can dive deep into additional metrics, portfolios, commentary and information about Biotechnology & Medical Research stocks as well as other industrys.

Choosing Which of the 7 Best Biotechnology & Medical Research Stocks Is Right for You

Choosing which value stocks to invest in will ultimately depend on your individual goals and allocation; however, comparing similar value stocks in the same industry can help you analyze which might be better investments for you in the long run. So, let’s take a look at the Value Grade for all of our stocks.

  • Achilles Therapeutics PLC (ADR) stock has a Value Grade of A.
  • AEterna Zentaris Inc. (USA) stock has a Value Grade of A.
  • Estrella Immunopharma Inc stock has a Value Grade of A.
  • Revelation Biosciences Inc stock has a Value Grade of B.
  • SQZ Biotechnologies Co stock has a Value Grade of A.
  • Exicure Inc stock has a Value Grade of A.
  • Xilio Therapeutics Inc stock has a Value Grade of A.

Now that you have a bit more background about each of the 7 undervalued stocks in the Biotechnology & Medical Research industry as well as their overall grades, it’s time for you to conduct additional research to see if these could fit your portfolio needs based on your goals and risk tolerance. AAII can help you figure out both and identify which investments align with what works best for you.

We do so through a program of education that teaches you to invest for yourself and become an effective manager of your own wealth—no more relying on others for your financial independence. You can rely on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis that makes you a better investor.

A+ Investor adds to that qualitative teaching by giving you a powerful data suite that helps you whittle down investment decisions to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

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Additional Resources About Biotechnology & Medical Research Stocks

Want to learn more about Biotechnology & Medical Research stocks to see if they could be the right investment for you? Check out some additional resources and articles to help you on your financial journey.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.



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