3 Undervalued Biotechnology & Medical Research Stocks for Thursday, August 08

By Omar Beirat
August 08, 2024
Diamond graphic indicating best value stocks in their industry
Featured Tickers:

Based on key financial metrics such as the price-to-sales ratio, shareholder yield and the price-earnings ratio, the following 3 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.

Click the button below to learn more about A+ Investor and subscribe today.

Learn More About A+ Investor

3 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 3 undervalued stocks in the Biotechnology & Medical Research industry for Thursday, August 08, 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
Cocrystal Pharma Inc COCP na na 0.4 (24.9%) 0.78 na B
Lenz Therapeutics Inc LENZ na na 1.5 40.9% 0.55 na A
Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. VNDA 1.66 na na (1.3%) 0.56 na B

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.

Cocrystal Pharma Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score COCP Industry Median
Price/Sales na na 6.61
Price/Earnings na na 23.5
EV/EBITDA 1 0.4 4.1
Shareholder Yield 86 (24.9%) (15.0%)
Price/Book Value 22 0.78 1.74
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 24.1

Cocrystal Pharma, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company. The Company is engaged in discovering and developing novel antiviral therapeutics that target the replication process of influenza viruses, coronaviruses (including SARS-CoV-2), noroviruses and hepatitis C viruses (HCV). It is developing small molecule antiviral therapeutics that inhibit the essential viral replication function of RNA viruses causing acute and chronic viral diseases. It has several candidates under development for the treatment of influenza infection. CC-42344 is a novel PB2 inhibitor, which is a preclinical lead for the treatment of pandemic and seasonal influenza A. It also develops broad-spectrum influenza antivirals targeting replication enzymes of influenza A and B strains. Its broad-spectrum antiviral drug candidate, CDI-988, is an oral treatment for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Its CC-31244, an HCV NNI, is a pan-genotypic inhibitor of NS5B polymerase for the treatment of HCV.

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.

Cocrystal Pharma Inc has a Value Score of 71, which is considered to be undervalued.

Now, let’s assess Cocrystal Pharma Inc’s EV/EBITDA ratio, also known as enterprise multiple. At 0.4, when compared to the industry median of 4.1, the company may be considered undervalued 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. Cocrystal Pharma Inc’s shareholder yield is lower than its industry median ratio of (14.96%). 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. Cocrystal Pharma Inc’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 1.74. This could make Cocrystal Pharma Inc more attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Lenz Therapeutics Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score LENZ Industry Median
Price/Sales na na 6.61
Price/Earnings na na 23.5
EV/EBITDA 4 1.5 4.1
Shareholder Yield 2 40.9% (15.0%)
Price/Book Value 13 0.55 1.74
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 24.1

LENZ Therapeutics, Inc. is a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. The Company is focused on developing the first aceclidine-based eye drop to improve vision in patients diagnosed with presbyopia. Its product candidates, LNZ100 and LNZ101, are preservative-free, single-use, once-daily eye drops containing aceclidine and aceclidine plus brimonidine, respectively. LNZ100 and LNZ101 are under clinical evaluation in the registration-enabling Phase III CLARITY trials as potential therapies for the treatment of presbyopia, a condition impacting an estimated 1.8 billion people globally and 128 million people in the United States.

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.

Lenz Therapeutics Inc has a Value Score of 100, which is considered to be undervalued.

Lenz Therapeutics Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Lenz Therapeutics Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.74.

You can read more about Lenz 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.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score VNDA Industry Median
Price/Sales 51 1.66 6.61
Price/Earnings na na 23.5
EV/EBITDA na na 4.1
Shareholder Yield 61 (1.3%) (15.0%)
Price/Book Value 13 0.56 1.74
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 24.1

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company, which is focused on the development and commercialization of therapies to address high unmet medical needs and improve the lives of patients. The Company’s commercial portfolio is comprised of three products: HETLIOZ for the treatment of non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder (Non-24) and for the treatment of nighttime sleep disturbances in smith-magenis syndrome (SMS), Fanapt (iloperidone) for the treatment of bipolar I disorder and a long acting injectable (LAI) formulation for the treatment of schizophrenia, and PONVORY (ponesimod) for the treatment of inflammatory/autoimmune disorders, including ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, Crohn's disease, atopic dermatitis, eosinophilic esophagitis and alopecia areata. The Company also has a range of drugs in development, including Tradipitant (VLY-686), VHX-896, VSJ-110, VPO-227, VTR-297, VQW-765, VCA-894A and Type 2S (CMT2S).

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.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a Value Score of 62, which is considered to be undervalued.

Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.74.

You can read more about Vanda Pharmaceuticals 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.

Learn More About A+ Investor

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 3 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.

  • Cocrystal Pharma Inc stock has a Value Grade of B.
  • Lenz Therapeutics Inc stock has a Value Grade of A.
  • Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. stock has a Value Grade of B.

Now that you have a bit more background about each of the 3 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.

Learn More About A+ Investor

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.



Find New Stock Opportunities With Included With AAII Platinum
Zweig Screen: 11.3% Compared to S&P 500
at only 6.9%

Gain Since Inception. Data as of 12/31/2024.




Try AAII Platinum and get full access to
769.3% Stock Superstars Portfolio Total Return Since Inception
Compare to:
710.3% iShare DOW Jones
U.S. Index ETF (IYY)

SSR Group 3 O'Shaughnessy portfolio has a 411.2% gain since inception performance compared to IYY at only 119.1%% Performance as of 11/29/24.

Get your free copy of our special report analyzing the tech stocks most likely to outperform the market.

Download the FREE Report Here:

BECOME A MEMBER FOR ONLY $2

Get access to powerful investment discovery tools and a wealth of investment education to help you achieve your financial goals.