Reviewing QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) and GE HealthCare Technologies (NASDAQ:GEHC)

QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) and GE HealthCare Technologies (NASDAQ:GEHC) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

99.0% of QuidelOrtho shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.1% of GE HealthCare Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of QuidelOrtho shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of GE HealthCare Technologies shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

QuidelOrtho has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, GE HealthCare Technologies has a beta of 0.74, suggesting that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for QuidelOrtho and GE HealthCare Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
QuidelOrtho	2	4	0	0	1.67
GE HealthCare Technologies	0	9	10	0	2.53

QuidelOrtho currently has a consensus price target of $14.88, indicating a potential upside of 24.58%. GE HealthCare Technologies has a consensus price target of $80.20, indicating a potential upside of 25.86%. Given GE HealthCare Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe GE HealthCare Technologies is more favorable than QuidelOrtho.

Profitability

This table compares QuidelOrtho and GE HealthCare Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
QuidelOrtho	-45.57%	4.25%	1.56%
GE HealthCare Technologies	9.10%	20.46%	5.73%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares QuidelOrtho and GE HealthCare Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
QuidelOrtho	$2.66 billion	0.31	-$1.13 billion	($17.82)	-0.67
GE HealthCare Technologies	$20.63 billion	1.41	$2.08 billion	$4.18	15.24

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

Summary

GE HealthCare Technologies beats QuidelOrtho on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About QuidelOrtho

QuidelOrtho Corporation provides diagnostic testing solutions. The company operates through Labs, Transfusion Medicine, Point-of-Care, and Molecular Diagnostics business units. The Labs business unit provides clinical chemistry laboratory instruments and tests that measure target chemicals in bodily fluids for the evaluation of health and the clinical management of patients; immunoassay laboratory instruments and tests, which measure proteins as they act as antigens in the spread of disease, antibodies in the immune response spurred by disease, or markers of proper organ function and health; testing products to detect and monitor disease progression across a spectrum of therapeutic areas; and specialized diagnostic solutions. The Transfusion Medicine business unit offers immunohematology instruments and tests used for blood typing to ensure patient-donor compatibility in blood transfusions; and donor screening instruments and tests used for blood and plasma screening for infectious diseases. The Point-of-Care business unit provides instruments and tests to provide rapid results across a continuum of point-of-care settings. The Molecular Diagnostics business unit offers polymerase chain reaction thermocyclers; amplification systems; and sample-to-result molecular instruments and tests for syndromic infectious disease diagnostics. The company sells its products directly to end users through a direct sales force; and through a network of distributors for professional use in physician offices, hospitals, clinical laboratories, reference laboratories, urgent care clinics, universities, retail clinics, pharmacies, wellness screening centers, blood banks, and donor centers, as well as for individual, non-professional, and over-the-counter use. It operates in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China, and internationally. The company was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About GE HealthCare Technologies

GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of products, services, and complementary digital solutions used in the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of patients in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Imaging, Ultrasound, Patient Care Solutions, and Pharmaceutical Diagnostics. The Imaging segment offers molecular imaging, computed tomography (CT) scanning, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, image-guided therapy, X-ray systems, and women’s health products. The Ultrasound segment provides medical devices and solutions for screening, diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of certain diseases in clinical areas, such as radiology and primary care, women’s health, cardiovascular, and point of care and handheld ultrasound solutions, as well as surgical visualization and guidance products. The Patient Care Solutions segment provides medical devices, consumables, services, and digital solutions. Its portfolio includes patient monitoring solutions, anesthesia delivery and respiratory care products, electrocardiogram solutions, maternal infant care products, and consumables and services. The Pharmaceutical Diagnostics supplies diagnostic agents, including CT, angiography and X-ray, MR, single-photon emission computed tomography, positron emission tomography, and ultrasound to the radiology and nuclear medicine industry. The segment also provides contrast media pharmaceuticals that are administered to a patient prior to certain diagnostic scans to increase the visibility of tissues or structures during imaging exams; and molecular imaging agents or radiopharmaceuticals, which are molecular tracers labeled with radioisotopes. It has an AI collaboration with Mass General Brigham. The company was formerly known as GE Healthcare Holding LLC and changed its name to GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. in December 2022. The company was incorporated in 2022 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.