Comparing Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) and Cannlabs (OTCMKTS:CANL)

Cannlabs (OTCMKTS:CANL) and Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Cannlabs and Icon’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cannlabs	N/A	N/A	N/A
Icon	7.40%	10.58%	6.01%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Cannlabs and Icon”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cannlabs	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Icon	$8.10 billion	1.62	$791.47 million	$7.39	21.95

Icon has higher revenue and earnings than Cannlabs.

Volatility and Risk

Cannlabs has a beta of 1.64, indicating that its stock price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Icon has a beta of 1.22, indicating that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.6% of Icon shares are held by institutional investors. 44.0% of Icon shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Cannlabs and Icon, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cannlabs	0	0	0	0	0.00
Icon	1	9	9	2	2.57

Icon has a consensus target price of $205.00, suggesting a potential upside of 26.40%. Given Icon’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Icon is more favorable than Cannlabs.

Summary

Icon beats Cannlabs on 10 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cannlabs

CannLabs, Inc. provides cannabis testing laboratory services in the United States. Its testing services include potency testing, residual solvent analysis, microbiological testing, pesticide testing, heavy metals testing, nutrient analysis, terpenes analysis, shelf-life/stability studies, gene expression testing, and genotyping/phenotyping testing. The company also offers data/analytics and consulting, as well as education services. CannLabs, Inc. was incorporated in 2010 and is based in Denver, Colorado.

About Icon

ICON Public Limited Company, a clinical research organization, provides outsourced development and commercialization services in Ireland, rest of Europe, the United States, and internationally. The company specializes in the strategic development, management, and analysis of programs that support various stages of the clinical development process from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies. It also offers clinical development services, including all phases of development, peri and post approval, data solutions, and site and patient access services; clinical trial management, consulting, and contract staffing services; and commercial services comprising clinical development strategy, planning and trial design, full study execution, and post-market commercialization. In addition, the company provides laboratory services, including bionanalytical, biomarker, vaccine, good manufacturing practice, and central laboratory services, as well as full-service and functional service partnerships to customers. Further, it offers adaptive trials, cardiac safety solutions, clinical and scientific operations, consulting and advisory, commercial positioning, decentralized and hybrid clinical trials, early clinical, laboratories, language services, medical imaging, real world intelligence, site and patient, and strategic solutions. The company serves pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries, as well as government and public health organizations. ICON Public Limited Company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.