Meridian Bioscience (NASDAQ:VIVO) and Lantheus (NASDAQ:LNTH) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
88.3% of Meridian Bioscience shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.0% of Lantheus shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.0% of Meridian Bioscience shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Lantheus shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Meridian Bioscience and Lantheus' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
---|
Meridian Bioscience | 18.21% | 21.06% | 12.55% |
Lantheus | 0.12% | 11.05% | 5.43% |
Risk and Volatility
Meridian Bioscience has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lantheus has a beta of 1.32, suggesting that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Meridian Bioscience and Lantheus' revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
---|
Meridian Bioscience | $253.67 million | 3.88 | $46.19 million | $1.07 | 21.31 |
Lantheus | $347.34 million | 2.96 | $31.67 million | $1.17 | 13.15 |
Meridian Bioscience has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Lantheus. Lantheus is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Meridian Bioscience, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings for Meridian Bioscience and Lantheus, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
---|
Meridian Bioscience | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 |
Lantheus | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2.67 |
Meridian Bioscience presently has a consensus target price of $28.00, indicating a potential upside of 22.81%. Lantheus has a consensus target price of $21.50, indicating a potential upside of 39.79%. Given Lantheus' higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Lantheus is more favorable than Meridian Bioscience.
Summary
Meridian Bioscience beats Lantheus on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.