Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) and Neuronetics (NASDAQ:STIM) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Cerus and Neuronetics, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
---|
Cerus | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 |
Neuronetics | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3.00 |
Cerus presently has a consensus price target of $7.8333, indicating a potential upside of 24.73%. Neuronetics has a consensus price target of $19.25, indicating a potential upside of 25.08%. Given Neuronetics' higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Neuronetics is more favorable than Cerus.
Profitability
This table compares Cerus and Neuronetics' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
---|
Cerus | -73.72% | -63.47% | -30.82% |
Neuronetics | -61.44% | -88.76% | -36.14% |
Volatility & Risk
Cerus has a beta of 1.37, indicating that its stock price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Neuronetics has a beta of 3.05, indicating that its stock price is 205% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
82.1% of Cerus shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.8% of Neuronetics shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.5% of Cerus shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.0% of Neuronetics shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Cerus and Neuronetics' gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
---|
Cerus | $74.65 million | 14.15 | $-71,240,000.00 | ($0.51) | -12.31 |
Neuronetics | $62.66 million | 4.66 | $-29,040,000.00 | ($1.58) | -9.74 |
Neuronetics has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Cerus. Cerus is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Neuronetics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Cerus beats Neuronetics on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.