PepGen Inc. (PEPG) Stock Analysis and Metrics

Sector: Healthcare Industry: Biotechnology CIK: 0001835597

P/B 1.15

P/E -2.01

P/S 0.00

Market Cap 187.78 Mn

ROIC (Qtr) -72.89

Div Yield % 0.00

Rev 1y % (Qtr) 0.00

Total Debt (Qtr) 17.44 Mn

Debt/Equity (Qtr) 0.11

About

PepGen Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, is at the forefront of advancing the next generation of oligonucleotide therapeutics to revolutionize the treatment of severe neuromuscular and neurological diseases. The company's proprietary Enhanced Delivery Oligonucleotide (EDO) platform is built on over a decade of research and development, utilizing cell-penetrating peptides to enhance the uptake and activity of conjugated oligonucleotide therapeutics. PepGen's primary business activities revolve around the development of innovative therapeutic...

PepGen Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company, is at the forefront of advancing the next generation of oligonucleotide therapeutics to revolutionize the treatment of severe neuromuscular and neurological diseases. The company's proprietary Enhanced Delivery Oligonucleotide (EDO) platform is built on over a decade of research and development, utilizing cell-penetrating peptides to enhance the uptake and activity of conjugated oligonucleotide therapeutics.

PepGen's primary business activities revolve around the development of innovative therapeutic solutions for debilitating diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). The company operates in the biotechnology industry and conducts its research and clinical trials in various countries, including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

The company generates revenue primarily through the development of its product candidates, which include PGN-EDO51 for DMD and PGN-EDODM1 for DM1. PGN-EDO51 facilitates the skipping of exon 51, allowing the synthesis of a shortened yet functional dystrophin, thereby addressing the underlying genetic mutations found in DMD. In a Phase 1 clinical trial, PGN-EDO51 resulted in the highest levels of mean exon skipping in humans following a single dose compared to publicly available data for other DMD exon 51-skipping approaches.

PepGen holds a competitive advantage in the industry through its EDO platform, which has demonstrated enhanced delivery of PMO to additional tissues that remain challenging to penetrate with existing technologies. This platform has the potential to deliver multiple classes of nucleic acid payloads, including other oligonucleotide therapeutics, and the company is currently exploring new cargos and peptide technologies.

Although the text does not provide specific names of customers, it does mention key competitors in the industry, such as Pfizer Inc. and Sarepta, which are also developing gene therapies for DMD.

PepGen's portfolio includes five programs, two of which are clinical and three are preclinical. The company's current pipeline comprises PGN-EDO51, PGN-EDODM1, and three additional preclinical stage programs. PepGen is initially focused on addressing neuromuscular indications and is building a portfolio of therapeutic candidates to address the underlying genetic mutations found in DMD and DM1.

Stock Price Chart

Analysis

Pros

Healthy cash reserves of 144.32M provide 45.63x coverage of short-term debt 3.16M, demonstrating strong liquidity position and minimal refinancing risk.
Strong tangible asset base of 190.06M provides 10.90x coverage of total debt 17.44M, indicating robust asset backing and low credit risk.
Tangible assets of 190.06M provide robust 21.81x coverage of other current liabilities 8.71M, indicating strong asset backing.
Short-term investments of 20.89M provide solid 2.40x coverage of other current liabilities 8.71M, indicating strong liquidity.
Cash reserves of 144.32M provide robust 11.42x coverage of current liabilities 12.64M, indicating strong short-term solvency.

Cons

Operating cash flow of (85.27M) barely covers its investment activities of 77.51M, with a coverage ratio of -1.10, indicating heavy reliance on external financing for growth which may not be sustainable in a tighter credit environment.
Investment activities of 77.51M provide weak support for R&D spending of 76.15M, which is 1.02x, suggesting potentially insufficient investment in innovation relative to other capital deployment.
The company's operating cash flow of (85.27M) shows concerning coverage of stock compensation expenses of 11.52M, with a -7.40 ratio indicating potential earnings quality issues.
Free cash flow of (85.76M) provides weak coverage of capital expenditures of 493000, with a -173.95 ratio suggesting additional external financing needs for growth initiatives.
Operating earnings of (94.17M) show weak coverage of depreciation charges of 1.44M, with a -65.35 ratio indicating high capital intensity and potential reinvestment needs.

Peer Comparison

Companies in the Biotechnology

S.No.	Ticker	Company	Market Cap	P/E	P/S	Total Debt (Qtr)
1	SMMT	Summit Therapeutics Inc.	1,349.40 Bn	-1,464.17	0.00	0.01 Bn
2	ONC	BeOne Medicines Ltd.	437.43 Bn	6,381.20	87.97	1.90 Bn
3	VRTX	Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc / Ma	116.09 Bn	31.59	9.90	1.83 Bn
4	REGN	Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.	78.10 Bn	17.06	5.48	2.71 Bn
5	ALNY	Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.	55.87 Bn	1,282.42	17.40	3.21 Bn
6	ARGX	Argenx Se	52.85 Bn	35.08	27,559.65	-
7	BNTC	Benitec Biopharma Inc.	41.75 Bn	-998.33	0.00	0.00 Bn
8	INSM	INSMED Inc	37.80 Bn	-31.93	84.56	0.74 Bn

Industry Comparisons

Current Valuation

Metric	Value	Industry
EV to Assets	0.89	12.31
EV to Cash from Ops.	-1.98	23.25
EV to Debt	9.69	738.44
EV to EBIT	-1.79	-9.16
EV to EBITDA	-1.75	6.95
EV to Free Cash Flow [EV/FCF]	-1.97	21.90
EV to Market Cap	0.90	65.67
EV to Revenue	0.00	227.32
Price to Book Value [P/B]	1.15	22.34
Price to Earnings [P/E]	-2.01	-11.77

Dividend Metrics

Metric	Value	Industry	Percentile
Dividend Coverage Ratio	0.00	-11.94
Dividend Payout Ratio %	0.00	0.16
Dividend per Basic Share	0.00	0.01
FCF Dividend Payout Ratio %	0.00	-0.14
Interest Coverage	0.00	841.00

Growth Metrics

Metric	Value	Industry
Capex Growth (1y) %	-8.83	-27.13
Cash and Equivalents Growth (1y) %	229.23	734.65
Dividend Growth (1y) %	0.00	0.01
EBIAT Growth (1y) %	-7.25	-46.93
EBITDA Growth (1y) %	-4.41	-1.68
EBIT Growth (1y) %	-8.05	-56.45
EBT Growth (1y) %	-8.05	-12.70
EPS Growth (1y) %	5.05	-28.31
FCF Growth (1y) %	-3.60	-31.90
Gross Profit Growth (1y) %	0.00	226.84

Liquidity Ratios

Metric	Value	Industry
Asset Utilization Ratio	0.00	0.14
Cash Payout Ratio	0.00	0.00
Cash Ratio	11.42	3.85
Current Ratio	13.15	7.27
Debt to Equity Ratio	0.11	0.40
Interest Cover Ratio	0.00	841.00
Times Interest Earned	0.00	841.00

Profitability

Metric	Value	Industry	Percentile
EBITDA Margin %	0.00	-18,234.31
EBIT Margin %	0.00	-18,580.80
EBT Margin %	0.00	-19,488.74
Gross Margin %	0.00	-7.59
Net Profit Margin %	0.00	-19,439.22

PepGen Inc. (NASDAQ: PEPG)