Head-To-Head Contrast: NeoGenomics (NASDAQ:NEO) and Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC)

NeoGenomics (NASDAQ:NEO) and Acadia Healthcare (NASDAQ:ACHC) are both mid-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, profitability, dividends and earnings.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

98.5% of NeoGenomics shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of NeoGenomics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Acadia Healthcare shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares NeoGenomics and Acadia Healthcare’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NeoGenomics	-6.77%	-1.99%	-1.21%
Acadia Healthcare	-33.44%	6.19%	2.42%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for NeoGenomics and Acadia Healthcare, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NeoGenomics	1	2	6	1	2.70
Acadia Healthcare	2	5	7	1	2.47

NeoGenomics presently has a consensus price target of $17.67, indicating a potential upside of 1.53%. Acadia Healthcare has a consensus price target of $29.85, indicating a potential upside of 3.92%. Given Acadia Healthcare’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Acadia Healthcare is more favorable than NeoGenomics.

Risk & Volatility

NeoGenomics has a beta of 1.75, suggesting that its stock price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acadia Healthcare has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares NeoGenomics and Acadia Healthcare”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NeoGenomics	$727.33 million	3.07	-$108.03 million	($0.40)	-43.50
Acadia Healthcare	$3.37 billion	0.79	-$1.10 billion	($12.45)	-2.31

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

About NeoGenomics

NeoGenomics, Inc. operates a network of cancer-focused testing laboratories in the United States and the United Kingdom. It operates through Clinical Services and Advanced Diagnostics segments. The company offers testing services to hospitals, academic centers, pathologists, oncologists, clinicians, pharmaceutical companies, and clinical laboratories. It also provides cytogenetics testing services to study normal and abnormal chromosomes and their relationship to diseases; fluorescence in-situ hybridization testing services that focus on detecting and locating the presence or absence of specific DNA sequences and genes on chromosomes; flow cytometry testing services to measure the characteristics of cell populations; and immunohistochemistry and digital imaging testing services to localize cellular proteins in tissue section, as well as to allow clients to visualize scanned slides, and perform quantitative analysis for various stains. In addition, the company also provides molecular testing services, which focus on the analysis of DNA and/or RNA, and the structure and function of genes at the molecular level; morphologic analysis, which is the process of analyzing cells under the microscope by a pathologist for the purpose of diagnosis; and testing services in support of its pharmaceutical clients' oncology programs covering discovery and commercialization. NeoGenomics, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida.

About Acadia Healthcare

Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. provides behavioral healthcare services in the United States and Puerto Rico. The company develops and operates acute inpatient psychiatric facilities, specialty treatment facilities comprising residential recovery facilities and eating disorder facilities, comprehensive treatment centers, and residential treatment centers, as well as facilities offering outpatient behavioral healthcare services for the behavioral healthcare and recovery needs of communities. Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee.