Tourmaline Bio (NASDAQ:TRML) versus Ikena Oncology (NASDAQ:IKNA) Financial Analysis

Ikena Oncology (NASDAQ:IKNA) and Tourmaline Bio (NASDAQ:TRML) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ikena Oncology and Tourmaline Bio”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ikena Oncology	$659,000.00	93.73	-$68.17 million	($1.01)	-1.27
Tourmaline Bio	N/A	N/A	-$42.12 million	($2.87)	-5.30

Tourmaline Bio has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ikena Oncology. Tourmaline Bio is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ikena Oncology, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Ikena Oncology and Tourmaline Bio’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ikena Oncology	N/A	-36.88%	-33.08%
Tourmaline Bio	N/A	-20.97%	-20.56%

Volatility & Risk

Ikena Oncology has a beta of 0.49, indicating that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tourmaline Bio has a beta of 2.35, indicating that its share price is 135% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

75.0% of Ikena Oncology shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.9% of Tourmaline Bio shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.9% of Ikena Oncology shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.0% of Tourmaline Bio shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Ikena Oncology and Tourmaline Bio, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ikena Oncology	0	1	1	0	2.50
Tourmaline Bio	0	0	6	0	3.00

Ikena Oncology presently has a consensus price target of $3.00, suggesting a potential upside of 134.38%. Tourmaline Bio has a consensus price target of $45.20, suggesting a potential upside of 197.17%. Given Tourmaline Bio’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Tourmaline Bio is more favorable than Ikena Oncology.

Summary

Tourmaline Bio beats Ikena Oncology on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ikena Oncology

Ikena Oncology, Inc. operates as an oncology company that develops differentiated therapies for patients in need that target nodes of cancer growth, spread, and therapeutic resistance in the United States. Its lead program is IK-930, an internally discovered, oral, TEAD1-selective, small molecule inhibitor of the Hippo pathway. The company also develops IK-595, a molecular glue designed to trap MEK and RAF in an inactive complex. Ikena Oncology, Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

About Tourmaline Bio

Tourmaline Bio, Inc. operates as a clinical biotechnology company that develops medicines for patients with life-altering immune and inflammatory diseases. It develops TOUR006, a human anti-IL-6 monoclonal antibody that selectively binds to interleukin-6, a key proinflammatory cytokine involved in the pathogenesis of many autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. The company's development pipeline comprises medicines and therapies for the atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and thyroid eye disease (TED). The company was formerly known as Tourmaline Bio, LLC and changed its name to Tourmaline Bio, Inc. in September 2022. Tourmaline Bio, Inc. was founded in 2021 and is headquartered in New York, New York.