Solventum (NYSE:SOLV – Get Free Report) and Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI – Get Free Report) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.
Profitability
This table compares Solventum and Merit Medical Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Solventum | 17.26% | 25.09% | 8.78% |
| Merit Medical Systems | 9.94% | 14.37% | 8.50% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
99.7% of Merit Medical Systems shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Solventum shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Merit Medical Systems shares are held by 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.
Volatility and Risk
Solventum has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Merit Medical Systems has a beta of 0.51, suggesting that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Solventum and Merit Medical Systems, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Solventum | 1 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 2.64 |
| Merit Medical Systems | 0 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 2.62 |
Solventum presently has a consensus price target of $87.55, indicating a potential upside of 7.62%. Merit Medical Systems has a consensus price target of $105.55, indicating a potential upside of 22.39%. Given Merit Medical Systems’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Merit Medical Systems is more favorable than Solventum.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Solventum and Merit Medical Systems”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Solventum | $8.32 billion | 1.66 | $1.56 billion | $8.18 | 9.94 |
| Merit Medical Systems | $1.52 billion | 3.40 | $128.49 million | $2.42 | 35.64 |
Solventum has higher revenue and earnings than Merit Medical Systems. Solventum is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Merit Medical Systems, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Solventum beats Merit Medical Systems on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Solventum
Solventum Corporation, a healthcare company, engages in the developing, manufacturing, and commercializing a portfolio of solutions to address critical customer and patient needs. It operates through four segments: Medsurg, Dental Solutions, Health Information Systems, and Purification and Filtration. The Medsurg segment is a provider of solutions including advanced wound care, I.V. site management, sterilization assurance, temperature management, surgical supplies, stethoscopes, and medical electrodes. The Dental Solutions segment provides a comprehensive suite of dental and orthodontic products including brackets, aligners, restorative cements, and bonding agents. The Health Information Systems provides software solutions including computer-assisted, physician documentation, direct-to-bill and coding automation, classification methodologies, speech, recognition, and data visualization platforms. The Purification and Filtration segment provides purification and filtration technologies including filters, purifiers, cartridges, and membranes. The company was incorporated in 2023 and is based in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
About Merit Medical Systems
Merit Medical Systems, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and markets single-use medical products for interventional, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Cardiovascular and Endoscopy. The company provides micropuncture kits, angiographic needles, sheaths, guide wires, and safety products; peripheral intervention, including angiography, drainage, delivery systems, and embolotherapy products; spine products, such as vertebral augmentation, radiofrequency ablation, and bone biopsy systems; oncology products; and cardiac intervention products, such as access, angiography, electrophysiology and cardiac rhythm management, fluid management, hemodynamic monitoring, hemostasis, and intervention to treat various heart conditions. It also offers custom procedural solutions that include critical care products, disinfection protection systems, syringes, manifold kits, and trays and packs; coating services for medical tubes and wires; and sensor components for microelectromechanical systems. In addition, the company provides pulmonary products that consist of laser-cut tracheobronchial stents, over-the-wire and direct visualization delivery systems, and dilation balloons to endoscopically dilate structures; gastroenterology products, such as covered esophageal stents, syringe and gauges, and balloon dilators; and kits and accessories for endoscopy and bronchoscopy procedures. It sells its products to hospitals and alternate site-based physicians, technicians, and nurses through direct sales force, distributors, original equipment manufacturer partners, or custom procedure tray manufacturers. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in South Jordan, Utah.
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