Reviewing Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) and Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO)

Bausch + Lomb (NYSE:BLCO) and Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) are both mid-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

Bausch + Lomb has a beta of 0.56, meaning that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Merit Medical Systems has a beta of 0.49, meaning that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Bausch + Lomb and Merit Medical Systems”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bausch + Lomb	$5.32 billion	1.13	-$360.00 million	($0.48)	-34.94
Merit Medical Systems	$1.52 billion	3.37	$128.49 million	$2.42	35.33

Merit Medical Systems has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Bausch + Lomb. Bausch + Lomb 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.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

11.1% of Bausch + Lomb shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.7% of Merit Medical Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Bausch + Lomb shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Merit Medical Systems shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Bausch + Lomb and Merit Medical Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bausch + Lomb	-3.21%	4.14%	1.93%
Merit Medical Systems	9.22%	13.75%	8.10%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Bausch + Lomb and Merit Medical Systems, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bausch + Lomb	1	8	6	0	2.33
Merit Medical Systems	0	3	8	1	2.83

Bausch + Lomb currently has a consensus price target of $19.15, suggesting a potential upside of 14.21%. Merit Medical Systems has a consensus price target of $100.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.96%. Given Merit Medical Systems’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Merit Medical Systems is more favorable than Bausch + Lomb.

Summary

Merit Medical Systems beats Bausch + Lomb on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bausch + Lomb

Bausch + Lomb Corporation operates as an eye health company in the United States, Puerto Rico, China, France, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Vision Care, Pharmaceuticals, and Surgical. The Vision Care segment provides contact lens that covers the spectrum of wearing modalities, including daily disposable and frequently replaced contact lenses; and contact lens care products comprising over-the-counter eye drops, eye vitamins, and mineral supplements that address various conditions, such as eye allergies, conjunctivitis, dry eye, and redness relief. Its Pharmaceuticals segment offers proprietary and generic pharmaceutical products for post-operative treatments, as well as for the treatment of glaucoma, eye inflammation, ocular hypertension, dry eyes, and retinal diseases. The Surgical segment provides medical device equipment, consumables, and technologies for the treatment of cataracts, corneal, vitreous, and retinal eye conditions; and intraocular lenses and delivery systems, phacoemulsification equipment, and other surgical instruments and devices for cataract surgery. The company sells its products and services through direct sales forces and independent distributors. Bausch + Lomb Corporation was founded in 1853 and is headquartered in Vaughan, Canada. Bausch + Lomb Corporation is a subsidiary of Bausch Health Companies Inc.

About Merit Medical Systems

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and markets single-use medical products for interventional, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Cardiovascular and Endoscopy. The company provides micropuncture kits, angiographic needles, sheaths, guide wires, and safety products; peripheral intervention, including angiography, drainage, delivery systems, and embolotherapy products; spine products, such as vertebral augmentation, radiofrequency ablation, and bone biopsy systems; oncology products; and cardiac intervention products, such as access, angiography, electrophysiology and cardiac rhythm management, fluid management, hemodynamic monitoring, hemostasis, and intervention to treat various heart conditions. It also offers custom procedural solutions that include critical care products, disinfection protection systems, syringes, manifold kits, and trays and packs; coating services for medical tubes and wires; and sensor components for microelectromechanical systems. In addition, the company provides pulmonary products that consist of laser-cut tracheobronchial stents, over-the-wire and direct visualization delivery systems, and dilation balloons to endoscopically dilate structures; gastroenterology products, such as covered esophageal stents, syringe and gauges, and balloon dilators; and kits and accessories for endoscopy and bronchoscopy procedures. It sells its products to hospitals and alternate site-based physicians, technicians, and nurses through direct sales force, distributors, original equipment manufacturer partners, or custom procedure tray manufacturers. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in South Jordan, Utah.