The Altman Z-Score is a model designed to predict the likelihood of a company going bankrupt within the next two years. Created by American finance professor Edward Altman in 1968, the model is specifically designed for publicly traded manufacturing companies with assets greater than $1 million.
Warning Sign:
Altman Z-score of -5.86 is in distress zone. This implies bankruptcy possibility in the next two years.
HCW Biologics has a Altman Z-Score of -5.84, indicating it is in Distress Zones. This implies bankrupcy possibility in the next two years.
The zones of discrimination were as such:
When Altman Z-Score <= 1.8, it is in Distress Zones.
When Altman Z-Score >= 3, it is in Safe Zones.
When Altman Z-Score is between 1.8 and 3, it is in Grey Zones.
The historical rank and industry rank for HCW Biologics's Altman Z-Score or its related term are showing as below:
HCWB'
s Altman Z-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -10.51 Med: -4.71 Max: 37.06
Current: -5.86
During the past 7 years, HCW Biologics's highest Altman Z-Score was 37.06. The lowest was -10.51. And the median was -4.71.
X1: The Working Capital/Total Assets (WC/TA) ratio is a measure of the net liquid assets of the firm relative to the total capitalization. Working capital is defined as the difference between current assets and current liabilities. Ordinarily, a firm experiencing consistent operating losses will have shrinking current assets in relation to total assets. Altman found this one proved to be the most valuable liquidity ratio comparing with the current ratio and the quick ratio. This is however the least significant of the five factors.
X2: Retained Earnings/Total Assets: the RE/TA ratio measures the leverage of a firm. Retained earnings is the account which reports the total amount of reinvested earnings and/or losses of a firm over its entire life. Those firms with high RE, relative to TA, have financed their assets through retention of profits and have not utilized as much debt.
X3, Earnings Before Interest and Taxes/Total Assets (EBIT/TA): This ratio is a measure of the true productivity of the firm's assets, independent of any tax or leverage factors. Since a firm's ultimate existence is based on the earning power of its assets, this ratio appears to be particularly appropriate for studies dealing with corporate failure. This ratio continually outperforms other profitability measures, including cash flow.
X4, Market Value of Equity/Book Value of Total Liabilities (MVE/TL): The measure shows how much the firm's assets can decline in value (measured by market value of equity plus debt) before the liabilities exceed the assets and the firm becomes insolvent.
X5, Revenue/Total Assets (S/TA): The capital-turnover ratio is a standard financial ratio illustrating the sales generating ability of the firm's assets.
Altman Z-Score does not apply to financial companies.
HCW Biologics Altman Z-Score Related Terms
HCW Biologics Altman Z-Score Historical Data
* Premium members only.
The historical data trend for HCW Biologics's Altman Z-Score can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
HCWB vs MTVA, INTI, HOOK: Altman Z-Score Comparison
For the Biotechnology subindustry, HCW Biologics's Altman Z-Score, along with its competitors' market caps and Altman Z-Score data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
HCW Biologics Altman Z-Score vs Biotechnology Industry
For the Biotechnology industry and Healthcare sector, HCW Biologics's Altman Z-Score distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where HCW Biologics's Altman Z-Score falls into.
Altman Z-Score model is an accurate forecaster of failure up to two years prior to distress. It can be considered the assessment of the distress of industrial corporations.
HCW Biologics's Altman Z-Score for today is calculated with this formula:
Z
=
1.2
*
X1
+
1.4
*
X2
+
3.3
*
X3
+
0.6
*
X4
+
1.0
*
X5
=
1.2
*
-0.667
+
1.4
*
-3.8418
+
3.3
*
-0.0415
+
0.6
*
0.3833
+
1.0
*
0.2411
=
-5.84
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency. GuruFocus does not calculate Altman Z-Score when X4 or X5 value is 0.
HCW Biologics (HCWB) has a Altman Z-Score of -5.84 as of Jun. 25, 2026. The Altman Z-score measures a company's bankruptcy risk. View historical data on HCW Biologics and its competitors. According to the industry distribution chart, HCW Biologics ranks #789 out of 935 companies in the Biotechnology industry, placing it in the top 84.4%.
Is HCW Biologics' Altman Z-Score too high?
HCW Biologics' current Altman Z-Score is -5.84. Based on the distribution chart, HCW Biologics ranks #789 out of 935 companies in the Biotechnology industry, which is in the bottom quartile relative to peers. Overall, HCW Biologics has a GF Score™ of 39/100 and is considered Possible Value Trap, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does HCW Biologics' Altman Z-Score compare to MTVA and INTI?
According to the Biotechnology industry distribution chart, HCW Biologics ranks #789 out of 935 companies for Altman Z-Score. This places HCW Biologics in the lower half of its industry. The industry median Altman Z-Score is 2.61. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Altman Z-Score for a Biotechnology company?
The median Altman Z-Score among Biotechnology companies is 2.61, based on 935 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Altman Z-Score significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Altman Z-Score should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Altman Z-Score mean?
A high Altman Z-Score can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. The Altman Z-score measures a company's bankruptcy risk. View historical data on HCW Biologics and its competitors. For the Biotechnology industry, the median Altman Z-Score is 2.61 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. HCW Biologics's current Altman Z-Score is -5.84. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is HCW Biologics stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, HCW Biologics (HCWB) is currently considered Possible Value Trap. The stock's GF Value™ is $7.29, compared to a current price of $1.16 — trading 84.2% below its estimated fair value. The current Altman Z-Score is -5.84. HCW Biologics' overall GF Score™ is 39/100 with 7 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Altman Z-Score calculated?
Altman Z-Score is calculated from a company's financial statements. For HCW Biologics (HCWB), the current Altman Z-Score is -5.84 as of Jun. 25, 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Is HCW Biologics (HCWB) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, HCW Biologics stock appears to be undervalued.
The current stock price of $1.16 is trading 84.2% below its estimated GF Value™ of $7.29.
GuruFocus considers HCW Biologics to be Possible Value Trap.
Key valuation signals for HCWB:
Altman Z-Score: -5.84
GF Value™: $7.29 vs. price of $1.16 (84.2% below fair value)
No single metric tells the full story. See the HCWB stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
HCW Biologics Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing transformative fusion immunotherapeutics to support or treat diseases promoted by chronic inflammation. It has created novel compounds that represent a new class of drugs that it believes has the potential to fundamentally change the treatment of autoimmune disorders and other proinflammatory diseases, cancer and senescence-associated dysplasia. The company has developed two proprietary drug discovery and development platforms which it uses to create novel fusion immunotherapeutics: The TOBI (Tissue factOr-Based fusIon) platform, and The T-cell Receptor Beta Chain constant region (TRBC) platform. It operates and manages its business as one reportable segment.
39GF Score
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