Alphatec (NASDAQ:ATEC) and TerrAscend (OTCMKTS:TSNDF) Financial Contrast

TerrAscend (OTCMKTS:TSNDF) and Alphatec (NASDAQ:ATEC) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for TerrAscend and Alphatec, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TerrAscend	0	1	0	0	2.00
Alphatec	1	2	12	0	2.73

Alphatec has a consensus price target of $16.60, suggesting a potential upside of 135.80%. Given Alphatec’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Alphatec is more favorable than TerrAscend.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

5.8% of TerrAscend shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.3% of Alphatec shares are held by institutional investors. 31.9% of TerrAscend shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.5% of Alphatec shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares TerrAscend and Alphatec’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TerrAscend	-31.01%	-32.93%	-5.49%
Alphatec	-10.35%	-6,752.24%	-9.78%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares TerrAscend and Alphatec”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TerrAscend	$260.56 million	0.57	-$81.33 million	($0.11)	-4.36
Alphatec	$839.72 million	1.29	-$143.36 million	($0.55)	-12.80

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

Risk and Volatility

TerrAscend has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alphatec has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

About TerrAscend

TerrAscend Corp. cultivates, processes, and sells medical and adult use cannabis in Canada and the United States. The company produces and distributes hemp-derived wellness products to retail locations; and manufactures vaporizables, concentrates, topicals, tinctures and edibles. It also operates retail dispensaries under the Apothecarium and State Flower brand names. The company was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in Mississauga, Canada.

About Alphatec

Alphatec Holdings, Inc., a medical technology company, designs, develops, and advances technologies for the surgical treatment of spinal disorders in the United States and internationally. It manufactures and sells implants and instruments through third-party suppliers. The company offers Alpha InformatiX product platform, including EOS imaging system that provides full-body imaging; VEA alignment mobile application, which leverages EOS technology to more quickly quantify alignment parameters on a mobile device; SafeOp Neural InformatiX System that automates electromyographic and somatosensory evoked potential monitoring; and Valence, an intra-operative system that integrates navigation and robotics into spine procedures, as well as Sigma Prone TransPsoas (PTP) Access and PTP Patient Positioning Systems. It also provides split-blade retractors; Sigma-ALIF Access System, a procedure-specific access system; spinal implants and fixation systems comprising NanoTec surface modifications, Calibrate PSX, and Invictus, as well as various standalone implants for height restoration and stabilization. In addition, the company provides biologics comprising 3D ProFuse Osteoconductive Bioscaffold for ease of handling and better endplate-to-endplate contact; AlphaGRAFT Demineralized Bone Matrix (DBM) comprising demineralized human tissues; AlphaGRAFT DBM Fibers comprising demineralized fibers; AlphaGRAFT Cellular Bone Matrix (CBM), a growth factor-enriched cellular bone matrix; AlphaGRAFT CBM that is delivered in granular, fiber, or structural form; BioCORE Moldable Bioactive Graft, a synthetic mineral-collagen composite matrix that can be molded to fit the bone defect; and Amnioshield Amniotic Tissue Barrier, an allograft for spinal surgical barrier applications. The company sells its products through a network of independent sales agents and direct sales representatives. Alphatec Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Carlsbad, California.