Contrasting Sernova (OTCMKTS:SEOVF) and Spero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SPRO)

Sernova (OTCMKTS:SEOVF) and Spero Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SPRO) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

25.6% of Spero Therapeutics shares are held by institutional investors. 4.5% of Spero Therapeutics shares are held 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.

Risk & Volatility

Sernova has a beta of 1.18, suggesting that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Spero Therapeutics has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Sernova and Spero Therapeutics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sernova	0	1	0	0	2.00
Spero Therapeutics	0	0	2	0	3.00

Sernova presently has a consensus price target of $1.50, indicating a potential upside of 614.29%. Spero Therapeutics has a consensus price target of $7.00, indicating a potential upside of 387.80%. Given Sernova’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Sernova is more favorable than Spero Therapeutics.

Profitability

This table compares Sernova and Spero Therapeutics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sernova	N/A	-479.95%	-192.17%
Spero Therapeutics	21.09%	35.42%	19.85%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Sernova and Spero Therapeutics’ revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sernova	N/A	N/A	-$28.91 million	($0.09)	-2.33
Spero Therapeutics	$103.78 million	0.75	$22.81 million	$0.43	3.34

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

Summary

Spero Therapeutics beats Sernova on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sernova

Sernova Corp. operates as a clinical-stage regenerative medicine therapeutics company in Canada. The company focuses on the development and commercialization of regenerative medicine therapeutics, including its proprietary Cell Pouch and associated technologies consisting of therapeutic cells and local cellular immune protection. Its Cell Pouch is a novel implantable and scalable medical device which forms a natural environment in the body for the housing and long-term survival and function of therapeutic cells, which release necessary proteins or factors missing from the body to treat chronic diseases as an alternative to daily administration of drugs. Sernova Corp. has a research agreement with the University of Miami to advance the development of Conformal Coating Technology in combination with therapeutic cells within Cell Pouch. Sernova Corp. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in London, Canada.

About Spero Therapeutics

Spero Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on identifying, developing, and commercializing novel treatments for multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacterial infections and rare diseases in the United States. The company's product candidates include tebipenem pivoxil hydrobromide (HBr), an oral carbapenem-class antibiotic to treat complicated urinary tract infections, including pyelonephritis for adults; SPR206, an intravenous-administered antibiotic against MDR Gram-negative pathogens comprising carbapenem-resistant enterobacterales (CRE), acinetobacter baumannii, and pseudomonas aeruginosa, as well as negative bacterial infections in the hospital setting; and SPR720, a novel oral antibiotic agent for the treatment of non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease. It has license agreement with Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd. to support the development of tebipenem HBr; Everest Medicines to develop, manufacture, and commercialize SPR206 in Greater China, South Korea, and Southeast Asian countries; and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated for patents relating to SPR720, as well as SPR719, an active metabolite. Spero Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.