Abbott Laboratories (ABT) Competitors

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) and DexCom (NASDAQ:DXCM) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, media sentiment, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

Which has more risk & volatility, ABT or DXCM?

Abbott Laboratories has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DexCom has a beta of 1.44, meaning that its share price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has higher valuation & earnings, ABT or DXCM?

Abbott Laboratories has higher revenue and earnings than DexCom. Abbott Laboratories is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than DexCom, 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
Abbott Laboratories	$41.95B	5.54	$13.40B	$7.71	17.34
DexCom	$4.03B	8.04	$576.20M	$1.34	61.74

Do insiders & institutionals hold more shares of ABT or DXCM?

75.2% of Abbott Laboratories shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.8% of DexCom shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Abbott Laboratories shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of DexCom shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to ABT or DXCM?

In the previous week, Abbott Laboratories had 30 more articles in the media than DexCom. MarketBeat recorded 61 mentions for Abbott Laboratories and 31 mentions for DexCom. Abbott Laboratories' average media sentiment score of 1.24 beat DexCom's score of 1.12 indicating that Abbott Laboratories is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Abbott Laboratories	43 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	12 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
DexCom	24 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ABT or DXCM more profitable?

Abbott Laboratories has a net margin of 31.89% compared to DexCom's net margin of 12.90%. DexCom's return on equity of 30.05% beat Abbott Laboratories' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Abbott Laboratories	31.89%	19.01%	10.82%
DexCom	12.90%	30.05%	10.00%

Do analysts recommend ABT or DXCM?

Abbott Laboratories presently has a consensus price target of $142.61, suggesting a potential upside of 6.67%. DexCom has a consensus price target of $98.50, suggesting a potential upside of 19.06%. Given DexCom's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe DexCom is more favorable than Abbott Laboratories.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Abbott Laboratories	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.76
DexCom	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	3 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.95

Summary

DexCom beats Abbott Laboratories on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.