Neogen (NASDAQ:NEOG) & Penumbra (NYSE:PEN) Critical Comparison

Penumbra (NYSE:PEN) and Neogen (NASDAQ:NEOG) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and earnings.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Penumbra and Neogen”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Penumbra	$1.40 billion	9.01	$177.69 million	$4.07	78.85
Neogen	$870.40 million	2.96	-$7.90 million	($0.25)	-47.24

Penumbra has higher revenue and earnings than Neogen. Neogen is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Penumbra, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Penumbra and Neogen, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Penumbra	0	14	3	0	2.18
Neogen	1	1	3	0	2.40

Penumbra currently has a consensus target price of $367.07, indicating a potential upside of 14.38%. Neogen has a consensus target price of $12.67, indicating a potential upside of 7.25%. Given Penumbra’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Penumbra is more favorable than Neogen.

Risk and Volatility

Penumbra has a beta of 0.7, meaning that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Neogen has a beta of 1.79, meaning that its share price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Penumbra and Neogen’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Penumbra	10.67%	10.50%	8.17%
Neogen	-6.35%	3.29%	2.06%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

88.9% of Penumbra shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.7% of Neogen shares are held by institutional investors. 2.9% of Penumbra shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Neogen shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Penumbra beats Neogen on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Penumbra

Penumbra, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices in the United States and internationally. The company offers peripheral products, including the Indigo System for power aspiration of thrombus in the body; Lightning Flash, a mechanical thrombectomy system; Lightning Bolt 7, an arterial thrombectomy system; and CAT RX. It also provides access products, including guide catheters and the Penumbra distal delivery catheters under the Neuron, Neuron MAX Select, BENCHMARK, BMX96, BMX81, DDC, SENDit, and PX SLIM brands; Penumbra System, an integrated mechanical thrombectomy system comprising reperfusion catheters and separators, the 3D Revascularization Device, aspiration tubing, and aspiration pump under the Penumbra RED, JET, ACE, Max, 3D Revascularization Device, and Penumbra ENGINE brands; and neuro embolization coiling systems that includes the Penumbra Coil 400, a detachable coil that provides an alternative for the treatment of aneurysms and other complex lesions, as well as Penumbra SMART COIL, a detachable coil to treat patients with a wide range of neurovascular lesions; and POD400 and PAC400 brands. In addition, the company provides peripheral embolization products, such as Ruby Coil System consisting of detachable coils for peripheral applications; Penumbra LANTERN Delivery Microcatheter, a low-profile microcatheter with a high-flow lumen; POD (Penumbra Occlusion Device) System, a single device solution; and Packing Coil, a complementary device for use in other peripheral embolization products. Further, it offers an immersive 3D computer-based technology platform under the real immersive system brand; and neurosurgical tools, such as Artemis Neuro Evacuation Device for surgical removal of fluid and tissue from the ventricles and cerebrum. The company sells its products through direct sales organizations and distributors. Penumbra, Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Alameda, California.

About Neogen

Neogen Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of various products and services dedicated to food and animal safety worldwide. It operates through two segments, Food Safety and Animal Safety. The Food Safety segment offers diagnostic test kits and related products to detect dangerous and unintended substances in food and animal feed, including foodborne pathogens, spoilage organisms, natural toxins, food allergens, genetic modifications, ruminant by-products, meat speciation, drug residues, pesticide residues, and general sanitation concerns; and AccuPoint Advanced rapid sanitation test to detect the presence of adenosine triphosphate, a chemical found in living cells, as well as provides genomics-based diagnostic technology and software systems that help testers to objectively analyze and store their results and perform analysis on the results from multiple locations over extended periods. The segment offers its products primarily to milling and grain, meat and poultry, prepared foods and ingredients, fruits and vegetables, seafood, dairy, beverage, water, healthcare, traditional culture media markets, food service, and dietary supplements markets. The Animal Safety segment provides veterinary instruments, pharmaceuticals, vaccines, topicals, parasiticides, diagnostic products, rodent control products, cleaners, disinfectants, insect control products, and genomics testing services marketed through veterinarians, retailers, livestock producers, and animal health product distributors, for the animal safety market. The segment offers its products for companion animal veterinarians; livestock producers, veterinarians, and breed associations; retailers; breeding and genetics companies; diagnostic labs and universities; distributors; and other manufacturers and government agencies. Neogen Corporation was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Lansing, Michigan.