Neoleukin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NLTX) & Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) Critical Contrast

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:MDGL) and Neoleukin Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NLTX) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

98.5% of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.4% of Neoleukin Therapeutics shares are owned by institutional investors. 22.8% of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Neoleukin Therapeutics shares are owned 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.

Profitability

This table compares Madrigal Pharmaceuticals and Neoleukin Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals	N/A	-71.78%	-53.25%
Neoleukin Therapeutics	N/A	-37.22%	-30.91%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Madrigal Pharmaceuticals and Neoleukin Therapeutics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals	1	2	10	0	2.69
Neoleukin Therapeutics	0	0	0	0	0.00

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus target price of $347.33, indicating a potential upside of 14.07%. Given Madrigal Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Madrigal Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Neoleukin Therapeutics.

Risk and Volatility

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals has a beta of -0.42, suggesting that its share price is 142% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Neoleukin Therapeutics has a beta of 1.11, suggesting that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Madrigal Pharmaceuticals and Neoleukin Therapeutics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals	N/A	N/A	-$373.63 million	($25.08)	-12.14
Neoleukin Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	-$57.56 million	($3.11)	-7.56

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Neoleukin Therapeutics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Neoleukin Therapeutics beats Madrigal Pharmaceuticals on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Madrigal Pharmaceuticals

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the development of therapeutics for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in the United States. Its lead product candidate is resmetirom, a liver-directed thyroid hormone receptor beta agonist, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials for treating NASH. The company is headquartered in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.

About Neoleukin Therapeutics

Neoleukin Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, develops immunotherapies for cancer, inflammation, and autoimmunity disorders using protein design technology. The company's lead product candidate is NL-201, a de novo protein designed to mimic the therapeutic activity of the cytokines interleukin (IL)-2/IL-15 for the treatment of various types of cancer, including renal cell carcinoma and melanoma. The company was formerly known as Aquinox Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed its name to Neoleukin Therapeutics, Inc. in August 2019. Neoleukin Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.