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Deep Value: cash covers more than 100% of the stock price

This company holds roughly $1M in cash and investments — more than its entire stock-market value, based on its latest quarterly filing. You're paying very little for the actual business. Sometimes that's a genuine bargain or a takeover target, sometimes it's cheap for a reason. Not a buy signal on its own — always ask why it's this cheap.

HCW Biologics logo

HCW Biologics

HCWB
25
Biotechnology · Healthcare
Price
$2.18
+0.06 (+2.83%)
Market Cap
$757,857
Exchange
NASDAQ Global Market
Winston Score
25
Winston is worried
Below-average fundamentals — multiple weak pillars.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Weak
Growth
Good
Cash Flow
Weak
Stability
Mixed
Valuation
Data not available

Share count falling — buybacks

94.1% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 6.0M (2021) → 350K (2025)

Winston Score History

The full picture

HCW Biologics is a small biotech company focused on developing drugs that target aging-related diseases and cancer. Its research centers on a platform called Tissue Factor, which is designed to eliminate "senescent" cells — old, damaged cells that build up in the body and are linked to inflammation, cancer, and age-related conditions. The company's potential customers are patients and healthcare providers, and its drugs are still in early clinical trials.

HCW Biologics earns almost no commercial revenue yet, as it has no approved products on the market. It operates primarily in the United States and, like most early-stage biotechs, spends far more money than it brings in — reflected in its deeply negative operating margin. The company's main risk is straightforward: it must successfully advance its drug candidates through clinical trials and secure regulatory approval before it runs out of funding, which is a common and serious challenge for pre-revenue biotech firms.

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

>+1,000% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Strong revenue growth

EPS Growth

+71.6% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

EPS growth accelerating

R&D Spend

$5M/ year

Declining (-15% vs prior year)

>1,000% of revenue

557.6x the sector average (18%)

R&D spend declining — could signal cost-cutting or efficiency

Insider Activity

14.2%ownership

Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Runway

~4 months

$6M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Short runway — potential dilution ahead through share issuance

Strong grower

HCW Biologics is growing revenue at 1970% year-over-year. The Winston Score penalises unprofitable companies, but revenue at this pace tells a different story — this is a company still in "build mode."

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
-69.3%
Thin — -69.3% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
-2335.6%
Losing money on operations — -2335.6%
Return on the money invested
ROCE
-44.0%
Weak — -44.0% return on capital

Negative ROIC means the business is losing money on every dollar invested in it.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+707.0%
Fast-growing sales (+707.0% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
N/A
Data not available
How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
5/8 quarters
Mixed — about half the quarters showed growth

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
N/A
Data not available
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
-180.6%
Burning cash (-180.6%)

Free cash flow is negative. They are burning cash, not generating it.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
0.88
Moderate — manageable debt (0.88)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
N/A
Data not available

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
N/M
Negative earnings — P/E not meaningful
Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
N/A
not available
Data not available

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.
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