QuidelOrtho (QDEL) Competitors

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) and QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and media sentiment.

Does the media prefer MMSI or QDEL?

In the previous week, Merit Medical Systems had 3 more articles in the media than QuidelOrtho. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for Merit Medical Systems and 13 mentions for QuidelOrtho. Merit Medical Systems' average media sentiment score of 1.17 beat QuidelOrtho's score of 0.67 indicating that Merit Medical Systems is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Merit Medical Systems	9 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
QuidelOrtho	2 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of MMSI or QDEL?

99.7% of Merit Medical Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.0% of QuidelOrtho shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.2% of Merit Medical Systems shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of QuidelOrtho shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is MMSI or QDEL more profitable?

Merit Medical Systems has a net margin of 8.31% compared to QuidelOrtho's net margin of -16.10%. Merit Medical Systems' return on equity of 15.07% beat QuidelOrtho's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Merit Medical Systems	8.31%	15.07%	8.60%
QuidelOrtho	-16.10%	5.29%	2.43%

Do analysts prefer MMSI or QDEL?

Merit Medical Systems currently has a consensus target price of $107.00, suggesting a potential upside of 25.56%. QuidelOrtho has a consensus target price of $42.17, suggesting a potential upside of 62.49%. Given QuidelOrtho's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe QuidelOrtho is more favorable than Merit Medical Systems.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Merit Medical Systems	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.89
QuidelOrtho	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, MMSI or QDEL?

Merit Medical Systems has higher earnings, but lower revenue than QuidelOrtho. QuidelOrtho is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Merit Medical Systems, 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
Merit Medical Systems	$1.36B	3.72	$120.36M	$1.97	43.26
QuidelOrtho	$2.78B	0.63	-$2.05B	-$6.54	-3.97

Which has more volatility and risk, MMSI or QDEL?

Merit Medical Systems has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, QuidelOrtho has a beta of -0.04, suggesting that its stock price is 104% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Merit Medical Systems beats QuidelOrtho on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.