Tourmaline Bio (NASDAQ:TRML) versus Passage Bio (NASDAQ:PASG) Critical Survey

Tourmaline Bio (NASDAQ:TRML) and Passage Bio (NASDAQ:PASG) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Tourmaline Bio and Passage Bio’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Tourmaline Bio	N/A	-20.97%	-20.56%
Passage Bio	N/A	-72.53%	-52.10%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

91.9% of Tourmaline Bio shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 53.5% of Passage Bio shares are owned by institutional investors. 11.0% of Tourmaline Bio shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Passage Bio shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Tourmaline Bio and Passage Bio, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Tourmaline Bio	0	0	6	0	3.00
Passage Bio	0	0	4	0	3.00

Tourmaline Bio presently has a consensus price target of $54.00, indicating a potential upside of 301.04%. Passage Bio has a consensus price target of $7.75, indicating a potential upside of 1,393.26%. Given Passage Bio’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Passage Bio is more favorable than Tourmaline Bio.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Tourmaline Bio and Passage Bio”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Tourmaline Bio	N/A	N/A	-$42.12 million	($2.82)	-4.77
Passage Bio	N/A	N/A	-$102.06 million	($1.17)	-0.44

Tourmaline Bio is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Passage Bio, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Tourmaline Bio has a beta of 2.32, meaning that its stock price is 132% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Passage Bio has a beta of 1.54, meaning that its stock price is 54% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Tourmaline Bio beats Passage Bio on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Tourmaline Bio

Tourmaline Bio, Inc. operates as a clinical biotechnology company that develops medicines for patients with life-altering immune and inflammatory diseases. It develops TOUR006, a human anti-IL-6 monoclonal antibody that selectively binds to interleukin-6, a key proinflammatory cytokine involved in the pathogenesis of many autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. The company's development pipeline comprises medicines and therapies for the atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and thyroid eye disease (TED). The company was formerly known as Tourmaline Bio, LLC and changed its name to Tourmaline Bio, Inc. in September 2022. Tourmaline Bio, Inc. was founded in 2021 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Passage Bio

Passage Bio, Inc., a genetic medicines company, develops gene therapies for central nervous system diseases. It develops PBGM01, a functional GLB1 gene encoding ß-galactosidase for infantile GM1; PBFT02, a functional granulin (GRN) and gene encoding progranulin (PGRN) for the treatment of FTD caused by progranulin deficiency; and PBKR03, a functional GALC gene encoding the hydrolytic enzyme galactosylceramidase for infantile Krabbe disease. The company develops PBML04 for the treatment of metachromatic leukodystrophy; PBAL05 for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; and other program for huntington's disease. It has a strategic research collaboration with the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania's Gene Therapy Program; and collaboration agreement, and a development services and clinical supply agreement with Catalent Maryland, Inc. Passage Bio, Inc. was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.