Reviewing DBV Technologies (NASDAQ:DBVT) and Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ)

Equillium (NASDAQ:EQ) and DBV Technologies (NASDAQ:DBVT) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Risk & Volatility

Equillium has a beta of 1.81, indicating that its stock price is 81% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DBV Technologies has a beta of -0.95, indicating that its stock price is 195% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Equillium and DBV Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Equillium	$41.10 million	2.92	-$22.40 million	($0.20)	-9.47
DBV Technologies	$5.64 million	134.90	-$146.95 million	($3.51)	-3.45

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

Profitability

This table compares Equillium and DBV Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Equillium	N/A	-41.15%	-38.29%
DBV Technologies	-3,506.53%	-119.33%	-84.43%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Equillium and DBV Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Equillium	1	1	7	2	2.91
DBV Technologies	1	1	5	0	2.57

Equillium currently has a consensus target price of $7.57, indicating a potential upside of 299.55%. DBV Technologies has a consensus target price of $48.50, indicating a potential upside of 300.83%. Given DBV Technologies’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe DBV Technologies is more favorable than Equillium.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

27.1% of Equillium shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.7% of DBV Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 17.8% of Equillium shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of DBV Technologies shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Equillium beats DBV Technologies on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Equillium

Equillium, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops and sells products to treat severe autoimmune and inflammatory, or immuno-inflammatory disorders with unmet medical need. The company's lead product candidate is itolizumab (EQ001), a first-in-class monoclonal antibody that targets the immune checkpoint receptor CD6, which is in Phase III clinical trials for the treatment of acute graft-versus-host disease; completed Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of ulcerative colitis; and Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of lupus nephritis. It also develops EQ101 completed phase 1/2 for treatment of cutaneous T cell lymphoma and alopecia areata; and EQ302 to treat gastrointestinal indications. In addition, it serves dermatology, gastroenterology, rheumatology, hematology, transplant science, oncology, and pulmonology area. The company was formerly known as Attenuate Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. and changed its name to Equillium, Inc. in May 2017. Equillium, Inc. was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in La Jolla, California.

About DBV Technologies

DBV Technologies S.A., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research and development of epicutaneous immunotherapy products. Its product pipeline comprising Viaskin Peanut, an immunotherapy product, which has completed Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of peanut allergies; and Viaskin Milk which is in Phase 1/2 clinical trial for the treatment of immunoglobulin E (IgE) mediated or cow’s milk protein allergy and eosinophilic esophagitis. The company’s earlier stage research programs includes vaccine for the respiratory syncytial virus, potential treatments for inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, and type I diabetes. In addition, it develops Viaskin technology platform, a platform to potentially treat food allergy. The company has a collaboration with Nestlé Health Science to develop MAG1C, a ready-to-use atopy patch test for the diagnosis of non-IgE mediated CMPA in infants and toddlers. DBV Technologies S.A. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Montrouge, France.