Critical Analysis: Tactile Systems Technology (NASDAQ:TCMD) and DENTSPLY SIRONA (NASDAQ:XRAY)

DENTSPLY SIRONA (NASDAQ:XRAY) and Tactile Systems Technology (NASDAQ:TCMD) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares DENTSPLY SIRONA and Tactile Systems Technology”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
DENTSPLY SIRONA	$3.68 billion	0.52	-$598.00 million	($0.62)	-15.39
Tactile Systems Technology	$329.52 million	1.80	$19.09 million	$1.03	25.82

Tactile Systems Technology has lower revenue, but higher earnings than DENTSPLY SIRONA. DENTSPLY SIRONA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Tactile Systems Technology, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares DENTSPLY SIRONA and Tactile Systems Technology’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
DENTSPLY SIRONA	-14.99%	20.84%	5.32%
Tactile Systems Technology	6.68%	10.73%	8.53%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.7% of DENTSPLY SIRONA shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.4% of Tactile Systems Technology shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of DENTSPLY SIRONA shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Tactile Systems Technology shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

DENTSPLY SIRONA has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tactile Systems Technology has a beta of 0.95, meaning that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for DENTSPLY SIRONA and Tactile Systems Technology, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
DENTSPLY SIRONA	3	8	3	0	2.00
Tactile Systems Technology	0	2	4	0	2.67

DENTSPLY SIRONA currently has a consensus price target of $12.42, indicating a potential upside of 30.15%. Tactile Systems Technology has a consensus price target of $36.80, indicating a potential upside of 38.40%. Given Tactile Systems Technology’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Tactile Systems Technology is more favorable than DENTSPLY SIRONA.

Summary

Tactile Systems Technology beats DENTSPLY SIRONA on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About DENTSPLY SIRONA

DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. manufactures and sells various dental products and technologies worldwide. It operates in four segments: Connected Technology Solutions, Essential Dental Solutions, Orthodontic and Implant Solutions, and Wellspect Healthcare. The company offers dental equipment comprising imaging equipment, motorized dental handpieces, treatment centers, other instruments, amalgamators, mixing machines, and porcelain furnaces; and dental CAD/CAM technologies to support dental restorations, such as intraoral scanners, 3-D printers, mills, other software and services, and a full-chairside economical restoration of esthetic ceramic dentistry, as well as DS Core, its cloud-based platform. It also provides endodontic products consisting of motorized endodontic handpieces, files, sealers, irrigation needles, and other tools that support root canal procedures; restorative products, including dental ceramics, crowns, and veneers; and preventative products, such as curing light systems, dental diagnostic systems, and ultrasonic scalers and polishers, as well as dental anesthetics, prophylaxis paste, dental sealants, and impression materials. In addition, the company offers SureSmile and Byte aligner solutions; VPro/HyperByte, a high-frequency vibration technology device; SureSmile Simulator, which creates a 3D visualization of a patient's outcome; and Byte Plus for treatment planning. Further, it provides dental implants, digital dentures, crown and bridge porcelain products, bone regenerative and restorative solutions, treatment planning software, and educational programs; dental prosthetics; urology catheters; and other health-related consumables. The company serves professional dental and consumable medical device markets through third-party distributors. The company was formerly known as DENTSPLY International Inc. and changed its name to DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. in February 2016. DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. was founded in 1877 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina

About Tactile Systems Technology

Tactile Systems Technology, Inc., a medical technology company, develops and provides medical devices to treat underserved chronic diseases in the United States. It offers Flexitouch Plus system, a pneumatic compression device for the treatment of lymphedema in the home setting; and Entre Plus System, a portable pneumatic compression device for the at-home treatment of venous disorders, such as lymphedema and chronic venous insufficiency, including venous leg ulcers. The company also provides Kylee, a mobile application to help patients learn about lymphedema, track their symptoms, and treatment, as well as to share their progress with their doctor; and AffloVest, a portable high frequency chest wall oscillation vest to treat patients with retained pulmonary secretions resulting from bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, and various neuromuscular disorders. Tactile Systems Technology, Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.