Reviewing IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) and Delcath Systems (NASDAQ:DCTH)

Delcath Systems (NASDAQ:DCTH) and IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Delcath Systems and IDEXX Laboratories’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Delcath Systems	0.56%	0.46%	0.42%
IDEXX Laboratories	25.36%	71.04%	33.99%

Risk & Volatility

Delcath Systems has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, IDEXX Laboratories has a beta of 1.55, suggesting that its stock price is 55% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

61.1% of Delcath Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.8% of IDEXX Laboratories shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.4% of Delcath Systems shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of IDEXX Laboratories shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Delcath Systems and IDEXX Laboratories”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Delcath Systems	$95.42 million	7.05	$2.70 million	$0.01	1,939.00
IDEXX Laboratories	$4.66 billion	11.90	$1.06 billion	$14.83	47.49

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Delcath Systems and IDEXX Laboratories, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Delcath Systems	0	2	2	0	2.50
IDEXX Laboratories	0	6	7	0	2.54

Delcath Systems currently has a consensus price target of $28.00, suggesting a potential upside of 44.40%. IDEXX Laboratories has a consensus price target of $719.55, suggesting a potential upside of 2.17%. Given Delcath Systems’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Delcath Systems is more favorable than IDEXX Laboratories.

Summary

IDEXX Laboratories beats Delcath Systems on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Delcath Systems

Delcath Systems, Inc., an interventional oncology company, focuses on the treatment of primary and metastatic liver cancers in the United States and Europe. The company’s lead product candidate is HEPZATO KIT, a melphalan for injection/hepatic delivery system to administer high-dose chemotherapy to the liver while controlling systemic exposure and associated side effects. Its clinical development program for HEPZATO is the FOCUS clinical trial for patients with metastatic hepatic dominant Uveal Melanoma to investigate objective response rate in metastatic uveal melanoma. It also provides HEPZATO as a stand-alone medical device under the CHEMOSAT Hepatic Delivery System trade name for Melphalan or CHEMOSAT for medical centers to treat a range of liver cancers in Europe. Delcath Systems, Inc. was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About IDEXX Laboratories

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. develops, manufactures, and distributes products primarily for the companion animal veterinary, livestock and poultry, dairy, and water testing markets in Africa, the Asia Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Companion Animal Group; Water Quality Products; and Livestock, Poultry and Dairy. It also provides point-of-care veterinary diagnostic products, including instruments, consumables, and rapid assay test kits; veterinary reference laboratory diagnostic and consulting services; practice management and diagnostic imaging systems and services for veterinarians; and health monitoring, biological materials testing, and laboratory diagnostic instruments, and services for biomedical research community. In addition, the company offers diagnostic and health-monitoring products for livestock, poultry, and dairy; products that test water for various microbiological contaminants; point-of-care electrolytes and blood gas analyzers; in-clinic chemistry, blood and urine chemistry, hematology, immunoassay, urinalysis, and coagulation analyzers; and SNAP rapid assays test kits. Further, it provides Colilert, Colilert-18, and Colisure tests, which detect the presence of total coliforms and E. coli in water; Enterolert, Pseudalert, Filta-Max and Filta-Max xpress, Legiolert, and Quanti-Tray products; and veterinary software and services for independent veterinary clinics and corporate groups. Additionally, the company offers human medical point-of-care products and laboratory diagnostics services. The company markets its products through marketing, customer service, sales, and technical service groups, as well as through independent distributors and other resellers. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Westbrook, Maine.