Align Technology (ALGN) Competitors

STERIS (NYSE:STE) and Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, media sentiment, institutional ownership, profitability, community ranking, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Which has better valuation and earnings, STE or ALGN?

Align Technology has lower revenue, but higher earnings than STERIS. STERIS is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Align Technology, 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
STERIS	$5.23B	3.82	$107.03M	$5.53	36.53
Align Technology	$3.81B	4.36	$361.57M	$4.72	45.89

Do institutionals and insiders believe in STE or ALGN?

92.9% of STERIS shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.1% of Align Technology shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of STERIS shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Align Technology shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media prefer STE or ALGN?

In the previous week, STERIS had 3 more articles in the media than Align Technology. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for STERIS and 6 mentions for Align Technology. STERIS's average media sentiment score of 1.57 beat Align Technology's score of 0.60 indicating that Align Technology is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
STERIS	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Align Technology	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community favor STE or ALGN?

Align Technology received 439 more outperform votes than STERIS when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 69.83% of users gave Align Technology an outperform vote while only 58.67% of users gave STERIS an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
STERIS	Outperform Votes 318 58.67%	Underperform Votes 224 41.33%
Align Technology	Outperform Votes 757 69.83%	Underperform Votes 327 30.17%

Do analysts prefer STE or ALGN?

STERIS presently has a consensus price target of $240.60, suggesting a potential upside of 19.11%. Align Technology has a consensus price target of $336.60, suggesting a potential upside of 55.39%. Given STERIS's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Align Technology is more favorable than STERIS.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
STERIS	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60
Align Technology	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.70

Is STE or ALGN more profitable?

STERIS has a net margin of 10.52% compared to STERIS's net margin of 9.53%. Align Technology's return on equity of 13.58% beat STERIS's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
STERIS	10.52%	13.58%	7.62%
Align Technology	9.53%	12.66%	7.56%

Which has more risk & volatility, STE or ALGN?

STERIS has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Align Technology has a beta of 1.59, suggesting that its share price is 59% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Align Technology beats STERIS on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.