Molecular Partners (MOLN) Competitors

Molecular Partners (NASDAQ:MOLN) and Arbutus Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABUS) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, community ranking, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, risk, profitability, earnings, valuation and dividends.

Does the media prefer MOLN or ABUS?

In the previous week, Arbutus Biopharma had 2 more articles in the media than Molecular Partners. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Arbutus Biopharma and 2 mentions for Molecular Partners. Arbutus Biopharma's average media sentiment score of 1.52 beat Molecular Partners' score of 0.62 indicating that Arbutus Biopharma is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Molecular Partners	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Arbutus Biopharma	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Do analysts rate MOLN or ABUS?

Molecular Partners currently has a consensus price target of $12.00, suggesting a potential upside of 216.62%. Arbutus Biopharma has a consensus price target of $5.50, suggesting a potential upside of 76.28%. Given Molecular Partners' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Molecular Partners is more favorable than Arbutus Biopharma.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Molecular Partners	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.50
Arbutus Biopharma	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Does the MarketBeat Community favor MOLN or ABUS?

Arbutus Biopharma received 423 more outperform votes than Molecular Partners when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 70.66% of users gave Arbutus Biopharma an outperform vote while only 48.15% of users gave Molecular Partners an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Molecular Partners	Outperform Votes 13 48.15%	Underperform Votes 14 51.85%
Arbutus Biopharma	Outperform Votes 436 70.66%	Underperform Votes 181 29.34%

Which has better earnings and valuation, MOLN or ABUS?

Molecular Partners has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Arbutus Biopharma. Arbutus Biopharma is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Molecular Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Molecular Partners	$4.97M	30.79	-$69.04M	-$1.81	-2.09
Arbutus Biopharma	$6.17M	96.81	-$72.85M	-$0.38	-8.21

Which has more risk and volatility, MOLN or ABUS?

Molecular Partners has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Arbutus Biopharma has a beta of 1.45, suggesting that its stock price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in MOLN or ABUS?

26.5% of Molecular Partners shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.8% of Arbutus Biopharma shares are held by institutional investors. 5.9% of Molecular Partners shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of Arbutus Biopharma shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is MOLN or ABUS more profitable?

Molecular Partners has a net margin of -1,043.01% compared to Arbutus Biopharma's net margin of -1,137.65%. Molecular Partners' return on equity of -39.31% beat Arbutus Biopharma's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Molecular Partners	-1,043.01%	-39.31%	-35.46%
Arbutus Biopharma	-1,137.65%	-68.18%	-51.55%

Summary

Arbutus Biopharma beats Molecular Partners on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.