Critical Comparison: Beta Bionics (NASDAQ:BBNX) vs. ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI)

Beta Bionics (NASDAQ:BBNX) and ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Beta Bionics and ICU Medical”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Beta Bionics	$100.25 million	7.59	-$73.20 million	($1.65)	-10.25
ICU Medical	$2.16 billion	1.87	$730,000.00	$1.18	137.14

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Beta Bionics and ICU Medical, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Beta Bionics	1	4	9	1	2.67
ICU Medical	0	3	4	2	2.89

Beta Bionics currently has a consensus price target of $24.00, suggesting a potential upside of 41.84%. ICU Medical has a consensus price target of $192.80, suggesting a potential upside of 19.14%. Given Beta Bionics’ higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Beta Bionics is more favorable than ICU Medical.

Profitability

This table compares Beta Bionics and ICU Medical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Beta Bionics	-61.31%	-26.30%	-23.25%
ICU Medical	1.39%	7.91%	4.17%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

96.1% of ICU Medical shares are held by institutional investors. 5.3% of Beta Bionics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of ICU Medical shares are held 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.

Risk and Volatility

Beta Bionics has a beta of 3.39, suggesting that its share price is 239% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ICU Medical has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

ICU Medical beats Beta Bionics on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Beta Bionics

Beta Bionics, Inc. is a commercial-stage medical device company. It engages in the design, development, and commercialization of solutions for insulin-requiring people with diabetes. The company was founded by Edward R. Damiano on October 21, 2015 and is headquartered in Irvine, CA.

About ICU Medical

ICU Medical, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells medical devices used in infusion therapy, vascular access, and vital care applications worldwide. Its infusion therapy products include needlefree products under the MicroClave, MicroClave Clear, and NanoClave brands; Neutron catheter patency devices; ChemoClave and ChemoLock closed system transfer devices, which are used to limit the escape of hazardous drugs or vapor concentrations, block the transfer of environmental contaminants into the system, and eliminates the risk of needlestick injury; Tego needle free connectors; Deltec GRIPPER non-coring needles for portal access; and ClearGuard, SwabCap, and SwabTip disinfection caps. The company provides IV therapy and diluents, such as sodium chloride, dextrose, balanced electrolyte solutions, lactated ringer's, ringer's, mannitol, sodium chloride/dextrose, and sterile water; and irrigation solutions comprising sodium chloride and sterile water irrigation, physiologic solutions, ringer's irrigation, acetic acid irrigation, glycine irrigation, sorbitol-mannitol irrigation, flexible containers, and pour bottle options. It offers infusion pumps under the Plum 360 and Plum Duo brands; ambulatory and syringe infusion hardware products; IV mediation safety software, including ICU Medical MedNet, an enterprise-class medication management platform; LifeShield and PharmGuard medication infusion safety software; hemodynamic monitoring products; anesthesia systems and devices, breathing circuits, ventilation, respiratory, and specialty airway products; temperature management solutions; anesthesia/pain management trays and components; and professional services. The company's customers include acute care hospitals, wholesalers, ambulatory clinics, and alternate site facilities, including outpatient clinics, home health care providers, and long-term care facilities. ICU Medical, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is based in San Clemente, California.