Head to Head Contrast: Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) & Co-Diagnostics (NASDAQ:CODX)

Co-Diagnostics (NASDAQ:CODX) and Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

15.0% of Co-Diagnostics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 53.0% of Novavax shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.3% of Co-Diagnostics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Novavax shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Co-Diagnostics and Novavax”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Co-Diagnostics	$620,000.00	12.61	-$46.90 million	($10.32)	-0.11
Novavax	$1.12 billion	1.45	$440.30 million	($1.52)	-6.48

Novavax has higher revenue and earnings than Co-Diagnostics. Novavax is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Co-Diagnostics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Co-Diagnostics has a beta of 2.85, indicating that its share price is 185% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Novavax has a beta of 2.45, indicating that its share price is 145% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Co-Diagnostics and Novavax, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Co-Diagnostics	1	1	1	1	2.50
Novavax	2	2	5	0	2.33

Co-Diagnostics presently has a consensus target price of $67.50, suggesting a potential upside of 5,926.79%. Novavax has a consensus target price of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 42.13%. Given Co-Diagnostics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Co-Diagnostics is more favorable than Novavax.

Profitability

This table compares Co-Diagnostics and Novavax’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Co-Diagnostics	-6,531.77%	-210.99%	-174.97%
Novavax	-59.87%	-14.82%	-13.35%

Summary

Novavax beats Co-Diagnostics on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Co-Diagnostics

Co-Diagnostics, Inc., a molecular diagnostics company, develops, manufactures, and sells reagents used for diagnostic tests that function through the detection and/or analysis of nucleic acid molecules in the United States and internationally. The company offers Co-Dx PCR platform, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing to patients in point-of-care and at-home setting. It also provides PCR diagnostic tests for COVID-19, influenza, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, human papillomavirus, malaria, chikungunya, dengue, and the zika virus. In addition, the company offers three multiplexed tests to test mosquitos for the identification of diseases carried by the mosquitos; molecular tools for detection of infectious diseases, liquid biopsy for cancer screening, and agricultural applications; tests that identify genetic traits in plant and animal genomes; and portable diagnostic device designed to bring PCR to patients in point-of-care and at-home settings. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

About Novavax

Novavax, Inc., a biotechnology company, that promotes improved health by discovering, developing, and commercializing vaccines to protect against serious infectious diseases. It offers vaccine platform that combines a recombinant protein approach, nanoparticle technology, and its patented Matrix-M adjuvant to enhance the immune response. It focuses on urgent health challenges, which is evaluating vaccines for COVID-19, influenza, and COVID-19 influenza combination. The company is commercializing a COVID-19 vaccine, NVX-CoV2373 under the brand names of Nuvaxovid, Covovax, and Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine, adjuvanted for adult and adolescent populations as a primary series and for both homologous and heterologous booster indications. It is also developing R21/Matrix-M adjuvant malaria vaccine. Novavax, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.