7 Undervalued Biotechnology & Medical Research Stocks for Tuesday, August 29

By Grace Malone
August 29, 2023
Diamond graphic indicating best value stocks in their industry
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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.

Latest Biotechnology & Medical Research Stock News

Before choosing which top Biotechnology & Medical Research stock to buy, be sure to conduct proper due diligence: analyze various financial metrics and look at historical data, public statements and news coverage.

The Biotechnology and Medical Research sub-industry has a positive outlook, a historically defensive sub-industry. Drug sales are anticipated to have high growth, primarily driven by COVID-19 therapeutics, the continued adoption of many new and innovative therapies, a favorable M&A environment, and a low prevalence of patent expirations in 2022. Additionally, companies could see prescription growth pick up as in-person physician visits return to pre-pandemic levels. As COVID-19 variants have emerged, vaccine boosters have been offered in order to increase efficacy. Due to this, repeat vaccinations will likely be necessary for lifelong immunity which would provide a long-lasting and significant source of revenue for lead vaccine developers. Aside from vaccines, the biotech industry is dependent on the volume of new therapy approvals. The FDA’s heavy focus on COVID-19 could slow the approvals on non-COVID-19 therapies. Despite this, the biotech industry will likely see promising sales growth over the next five years as it usually takes at least five years for new drugs to reach peak sales levels. Approval activity has also been on the rise recently. Mergers and acquisitions activity is expected to remain low as a more activist Federal Trade Commission (led by Lina Khan) could be more skeptical of proposed mergers. Year to date through June 30, the S&P 1500 Biotech Index was down 1.6%, vs. a 20.5% decline for the S&P 1500 Composite Index. In 2021, the Biotech Index rose 8.2%, vs. a 26.7% gain for the Composite Index.

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 Tuesday, August 29, 2023. 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
Affimed NV AFMD 2.30 na 0.2 (1.4%) 0.74 na B
Lumos Pharma Inc LUMO 10.16 na 0.3 2.4% 0.52 na B
MEI Pharma Inc MEIP 0.68 na na (0.2%) 1.16 na B
Sangamo Therapeutics Inc SGMO 0.67 na na (17.7%) 0.62 na B
SQZ Biotechnologies Co SQZB 0.15 na 0.3 (4.0%) 0.10 na A
Virpax Pharmaceuticals Inc VRPX na na 0.1 -0.0% 0.86 na A
Zymeworks Inc ZYME 1.13 2.7 2.2 (1.4%) 1.12 3.1 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.

Affimed NV’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score AFMD Industry Median
Price/Sales 61 2.30 8.53
Price/Earnings na na 20.9
EV/EBITDA 1 0.2 0.8
Shareholder Yield 62 (1.4%) (7.7%)
Price/Book Value 18 0.74 1.55
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 20.6

Affimed N.V. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing cancer immunotherapies. The Company's product candidates are developed in the field of immuno-oncology, which represents an approach to cancer research that seeks to harness the body's own immune system to fight tumor cells. Its pipeline includes AFM13, AFM13 + adoptive NK cells, AFM13 + anti-PD-1, AMF24, AMF26, AMF28 and AMF32. The Company is enrolling patients into a registration-directed study of AFM13 for CD30-positive relapsed/refractory peripheral T-cell Lymphoma and into a Phase 1/2a dose escalation/expansion study of AFM24 for the treatment of advanced EGFR-expressing solid tumors. Its preclinical product candidates include AMF26 for treating multiple myeloma, as well as AMF28 and AMF32, for treating of multiple tumor targets. In addition, the Company collaborates with Genentech to develop and commercialize certain product candidates for treating multiple cancers.

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.

Affimed NV has a Value Score of 73, which is considered to be undervalued.

When you look at Affimed NV’s price-to-sales ratio at 2.30 compared to the industry median at 8.53, this company has a lower price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make Affimed NV’s stock more attractive for value investors.

Now, let’s assess Affimed NV’s EV/EBITDA ratio, also known as enterprise multiple. At 0.2, when compared to the industry median of 0.8, 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. Affimed NV’s shareholder yield is higher than its industry median ratio of (7.73%). 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. Affimed NV’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 1.55. This could make Affimed NV more attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Lumos Pharma Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score LUMO Industry Median
Price/Sales 90 10.16 8.53
Price/Earnings na na 20.9
EV/EBITDA 2 0.3 0.8
Shareholder Yield 31 2.4% (7.7%)
Price/Book Value 10 0.52 1.55
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 20.6

Lumos Pharma, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. The Company is engaged in advancing its clinical program and focused on identifying, acquiring, developing, and commercializing products and new therapies for people with rare diseases. Its pipeline is focused on the development of an orally administered small molecule, LUM-201, which is a growth hormone (GH) secretagogue, also called ibutamoren, for rare endocrine disorders that require injectable recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH). LUM-201 is a tablet formulation that is intended to be administered once daily. LUM-201 stimulates GH via the GH secretagogue receptor (GHSR1a), also known as the ghrelin receptor, and also suppresses the release of somatostatin, thus providing a differentiated mechanism of action to treat some rare endocrine disorders (involving a deficiency of GH) by increasing the amplitude of endogenous, pulsatile GH secretion. Lumos Pharma Sub, Inc. (Private Lumos) is its subsidiary.

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.

Lumos Pharma Inc has a Value Score of 77, which is considered to be undervalued.

Lumos Pharma Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Lumos Pharma Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.55.

You can read more about Lumos Pharma 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.

MEI Pharma Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score MEIP Industry Median
Price/Sales 25 0.68 8.53
Price/Earnings na na 20.9
EV/EBITDA na na 0.8
Shareholder Yield 51 (0.2%) (7.7%)
Price/Book Value 36 1.16 1.55
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 20.6

MEI Pharma, Inc. is a late-stage pharmaceutical company. The Company is engaged in the development and commercialization of novel cancer therapies. The Company's portfolio of drug candidates includes three clinical-stage assets: Zandelisib, Voruciclib, and ME-344. Zandelisib is an oral phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase delta (PI3K) in clinical development for the treatment of B-cell malignancies. Zandelisib is in multiple ongoing clinical studies intended to support marketing applications with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other regulatory authorities globally. Voruciclib is an oral cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) inhibitor, which is used in therapies for the treatment of hematologic malignances and solid tumors. ME-344 is a Mitochondrial Inhibitor used for the treatment of 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.

MEI Pharma Inc has a Value Score of 70, which is considered to be undervalued.

MEI Pharma Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make MEI Pharma Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.55.

You can read more about MEI Pharma 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.

Sangamo Therapeutics Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score SGMO Industry Median
Price/Sales 25 0.67 8.53
Price/Earnings na na 20.9
EV/EBITDA na na 0.8
Shareholder Yield 85 (17.7%) (7.7%)
Price/Book Value 14 0.62 1.55
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 20.6

Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage genomic medicine company. The Company focuses on leveraging its optimized zinc finger (ZF) technology, which is a differentiated tool used to develop genomic medicines, including allogeneic cell therapies and in vivo genome engineering therapies. Its product candidates include Isaralgagene civaparvovec, also known as ST-920, its wholly owned gene therapy product candidate for the treatment of Fabry disease; TX200, its wholly owned Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR), engineered regulatory T cell (CAR-Treg) cell therapy product candidate for the prevention of immune-mediated rejection in HLA-A2 mismatched kidney transplantation; Giroctocogene fitelparvovec, also known as SB-525, is a gene therapy product candidate for the treatment of moderately severe to severe hemophilia A., and BIVV003, its zinc finger nuclease, or ZF nuclease, gene-edited cell therapy product candidate for the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD).

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.

Sangamo Therapeutics Inc has a Value Score of 63, which is considered to be undervalued.

Sangamo Therapeutics Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Sangamo Therapeutics Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.55.

You can read more about Sangamo 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.

SQZ Biotechnologies Co’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score SQZB Industry Median
Price/Sales 5 0.15 8.53
Price/Earnings na na 20.9
EV/EBITDA 1 0.3 0.8
Shareholder Yield 73 (4.0%) (7.7%)
Price/Book Value 1 0.10 1.55
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 20.6

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 1.55.

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.

Virpax Pharmaceuticals Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score VRPX Industry Median
Price/Sales na na 8.53
Price/Earnings na na 20.9
EV/EBITDA 0 0.1 0.8
Shareholder Yield 49 -0.0% (7.7%)
Price/Book Value 23 0.86 1.55
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 20.6

Virpax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a preclinical-stage pharmaceutical company. The Company is focused on developing novel and drug delivery systems. Its drug-delivery systems and drug-releasing technologies being developed are focused on advancing non-opioid and non-addictive pain management treatments and treatments for central nervous system (CNS) disorders to enhance patients? quality of life. Its portfolio consists of multiple preclinical stage product candidates: Epoladerm, Probudur, Envelta, PES200, AnQlar and NobrXiol. Probudur is a drug product candidate based on a liposomal delivery system utilizing large multi-vesicular vesicles (LMVVs) encapsulating a high dose of the local anesthetic bupivacaine. PES200 enables the delivery of a metabolically labile peptide drug (Enkephalin) into the brain for post-traumatic stress disorder. NobrXiol is being developed by Nanomerics as an investigational formulation delivered via the nasal route to enhance Cannabidiol transport to the brain.

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.

Virpax Pharmaceuticals Inc has a Value Score of 92, which is considered to be undervalued.

Virpax Pharmaceuticals Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Virpax Pharmaceuticals Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.55.

You can read more about Virpax 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.

Zymeworks Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score ZYME Industry Median
Price/Sales 38 1.13 8.53
Price/Earnings 4 2.7 20.9
EV/EBITDA 7 2.2 0.8
Shareholder Yield 62 (1.4%) (7.7%)
Price/Book Value 35 1.12 1.55
Price/Free Cash Flow 7 3.1 20.6

Zymeworks Inc. is a global biotechnology company. The Company is engaged in the discovery, development, and commercialization of multifunctional biotherapeutics to treat cancer and other serious diseases. Its lead product candidate, zanidatamab, is a bispecific antibody that targets two distinct domains of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Its second product candidate, zanidatamab zovodotin, combines the biparatopic antibody design of zanidatamab with its ZymeLink auristatin antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) technology, comprised of its cytotoxin (cancer cell-killing compound) and cleavable linker. It is also advancing a pipeline of preclinical product candidates and discovery-stage programs in oncology (including immuno-oncology agents) and other therapeutic areas with an emphasis on developing ADC and multi-specific antibody therapeutics (MSAT) candidates. Its pipeline of preclinical product candidates includes two lead programs, ZW191 and ZW17.

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.

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

Zymeworks Inc’s price-earnings ratio is 2.7 compared to the industry median at 20.9. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes Zymeworks Inc more attractive for value investors.

Zymeworks Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Zymeworks Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 1.55.

You can read more about Zymeworks 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.

  • Affimed NV stock has a Value Grade of B.
  • Lumos Pharma Inc stock has a Value Grade of B.
  • MEI Pharma Inc stock has a Value Grade of B.
  • Sangamo Therapeutics Inc stock has a Value Grade of B.
  • SQZ Biotechnologies Co stock has a Value Grade of A.
  • Virpax Pharmaceuticals Inc stock has a Value Grade of A.
  • Zymeworks 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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