Critical Comparison: NeurAxis (NASDAQ:NRXS) & Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) and NeurAxis (NASDAQ:NRXS) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Abbott Laboratories and NeurAxis’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Abbott Laboratories	11.65%	17.69%	9.44%
NeurAxis	-492.76%	N/A	-641.25%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

75.2% of Abbott Laboratories shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 11.8% of NeurAxis shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Abbott Laboratories shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 21.1% of NeurAxis shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Abbott Laboratories and NeurAxis, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Abbott Laboratories	0	4	22	2	2.93
NeurAxis	0	1	1	0	2.50

Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus target price of $118.60, indicating a potential upside of 17.91%. NeurAxis has a consensus target price of $13.00, indicating a potential upside of 64.14%. Given NeurAxis’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe NeurAxis is more favorable than Abbott Laboratories.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Abbott Laboratories and NeurAxis”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Abbott Laboratories	$46.59 billion	3.74	$6.52 billion	$3.09	32.55
NeurAxis	$5.32 million	18.71	-$14.63 million	($0.78)	-10.15

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

Risk and Volatility

Abbott Laboratories has a beta of 0.59, meaning that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NeurAxis has a beta of 1.38, meaning that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Abbott Laboratories beats NeurAxis on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière’s disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon. It also offers laboratory and transfusion medicine systems in the areas of immunoassay, clinical chemistry, hematology, and transfusion; molecular diagnostics polymerase chain reaction instrument systems that automate the extraction, purification, and preparation of DNA and RNA from patient samples, and detect and measure infectious agents; point of care systems; cartridges for testing blood gas, chemistry, electrolytes, coagulation, and immunoassay; rapid diagnostics lateral flow testing products; molecular point-of-care testing for HIV, SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and B, RSV, and strep A; cardiometabolic test systems; drug and alcohol test, and remote patient monitoring and consumer self-test systems; and informatics and automation solutions for laboratories. In addition, the company provides pediatric and adult nutritional products; rhythm management, electrophysiology, heart failure, vascular, and structural heart devices for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases; diabetes care products, such as glucose and blood glucose monitoring systems; and neuromodulation devices for the management of chronic pain and movement disorders. Abbott Laboratories was founded in 1888 and is based in North Chicago, Illinois.

About NeurAxis

NeurAxis, Inc., a medical technology company, focuses on developing neuromodulation therapies to address chronic and debilitating conditions in children and adults in the United States. It offers IB-Stim, a percutaneous electrical nerve field stimulation system intended to be used in patients 11-18 years of age with functional abdominal pain associated with irritable bowel syndrome. The company sells its products to healthcare companies, including hospitals and clinics. The company was formerly known as Innovative Health Solutions, Inc. and changed its name to NeurAxis, Inc. in March 2022. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.