Critical Analysis: IDEX (NYSE:IEX) versus Xometry (NASDAQ:XMTR)

Xometry (NASDAQ:XMTR) and IDEX (NYSE:IEX) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Risk and Volatility

Xometry has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, IDEX has a beta of 1.04, suggesting that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Xometry	$642.78 million	4.53	-$50.40 million	($1.25)	-45.46
IDEX	$3.42 billion	3.83	$505.00 million	$6.32	27.71

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.3% of Xometry shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.0% of IDEX shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.7% of Xometry shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of IDEX shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Xometry and IDEX’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Xometry	-9.80%	-6.59%	-2.80%
IDEX	13.97%	15.20%	8.73%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Xometry and IDEX, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Xometry	1	4	5	0	2.40
IDEX	0	2	4	0	2.67

Xometry currently has a consensus target price of $57.89, indicating a potential upside of 1.88%. IDEX has a consensus target price of $198.86, indicating a potential upside of 13.57%. Given IDEX’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe IDEX is more favorable than Xometry.

Summary

IDEX beats Xometry on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Xometry

Xometry, Inc. operates an online marketplace that enables buyers to source custom-manufactured parts and assemblies in the United States and internationally. It provides computer numerical control manufacturing, sheet metal forming, and sheet cutting; 3D printing, including fused deposition modeling, direct metal laser sintering, PolyJet, stereolithography, selective laser sintering, binder jetting, carbon digital light synthesis, multi jet fusion, and lubricant sublayer photo-curing; and die casting, stamping, injection molding, urethane casting, tube cutting, and tube bending, as well as finishing services, rapid prototyping, and high-volume production services. It serves aerospace, healthcare, robotics, industrial, defense, energy, automotive, government, education, and consumer goods industries. The company was formerly known as NextLine Manufacturing Corp. and changed its name to Xometry, Inc. in June 2015. Xometry, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in North Bethesda, Maryland.

About IDEX

IDEX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides applied solutions worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Fluid & Metering Technologies (FMT), Health & Science Technologies (HST), and Fire & Safety/Diversified Products (FSDP). The FMT segment designs, produces, and distributes positive displacement pumps, valves, small volume provers, flow meters, injectors, and other fluid-handling pump modules and systems, as well as flow monitoring and other services for the food, chemical, general industrial, water and wastewater, agricultural, and energy industries. The HST segment designs, produces, and distributes precision fluidics positive displacement pumps, powder and liquid processing technologies, drying systems, micro-precision components, pneumatic components and sealing solutions, high performance molded and extruded sealing components, custom mechanical and shaft seals, engineered hygienic mixers and valves, biocompatible medical devices and implantables, air compressors and blowers, optical components and coatings, laboratory and commercial equipment, and precision photonic solutions. This segment serves food and beverage, life sciences, analytical instruments, pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical, industrial, semiconductor, automotive/transportation, medical/dental, energy, cosmetics, marine, chemical, wastewater and water treatment, research and aerospace/defense markets. The FSDP segment designs, produces, and distributes firefighting pumps, valves and controls, rescue tools, lifting bags, and other components and systems for the fire and rescue industry; engineered stainless steel banding and clamping devices for various industrial and commercial applications; and precision equipment for dispensing, metering, and mixing colorants and paints used in retail and commercial businesses. IDEX Corporation was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois.