Financial Survey: Legend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN) versus Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI)
by Kim Johansen · The Markets DailyLegend Biotech (NASDAQ:LEGN – Get Free Report) and Absci (NASDAQ:ABSI – Get Free Report) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability, earnings and analyst recommendations.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Legend Biotech and Absci”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Legend Biotech | $1.27 billion | 2.84 | -$296.80 million | ($0.25) | -74.56 |
| Absci | $1.56 million | 902.60 | -$115.18 million | ($0.80) | -10.26 |
Absci has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Legend Biotech. Legend Biotech is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Absci, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings for Legend Biotech and Absci, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Legend Biotech | 1 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 2.47 |
| Absci | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 2.80 |
Legend Biotech currently has a consensus target price of $53.14, indicating a potential upside of 185.10%. Absci has a consensus target price of $13.71, indicating a potential upside of 67.04%. Given Legend Biotech’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Legend Biotech is more favorable than Absci.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
70.9% of Legend Biotech shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.0% of Absci shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of Legend Biotech shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.5% of Absci shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Legend Biotech and Absci’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Legend Biotech | -7.21% | -8.71% | -5.40% |
| Absci | -7,756.38% | -61.71% | -54.52% |
Volatility and Risk
Legend Biotech has a beta of 0.4, meaning that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Absci has a beta of 2.42, meaning that its share price is 142% more volatile than the S&P 500.
About Legend Biotech
Legend Biotech Corporation, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of novel cell therapies for oncology and other indications in the United States, China, and internationally. Its lead product candidate, LCAR- B38M, is a chimeric antigen receptor for the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM). The company also has a portfolio of earlier-stage autologous CAR-T product candidates targeting various cancers, including Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, gastric cancer, esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, small cell lung cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer. It has collaboration and license agreement with Janssen Biotech, Inc. for the development and commercialization of ciltacabtagene autoleucel. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in Somerset, New Jersey. Legend Biotech Corporation is a subsidiary of Genscript Biotech Corporation.
About Absci
Absci Corporation operates as a data-first generative artificial intelligence (AI) drug creation company in the United States. The company combines AI with scalable wet lab technologies to create biologics for patients. Its integrated drug creation platform is designed to improve upon traditional biologic drug discovery by using AI to simultaneously optimize multiple drug characteristics that may be important to development and therapeutic benefit. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Washington.