Financial Comparison: Avanos Medical (NYSE:AVNS) and DexCom (NASDAQ:DXCM)

DexCom (NASDAQ:DXCM) and Avanos Medical (NYSE:AVNS) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, valuation and risk.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares DexCom and Avanos Medical”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
DexCom	$4.03 billion	6.53	$576.20 million	$1.80	37.54
Avanos Medical	$687.80 million	0.77	-$392.10 million	($10.19)	-1.12

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.8% of DexCom shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.2% of Avanos Medical shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of DexCom shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Avanos Medical shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

DexCom has a beta of 1.51, suggesting that its share price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Avanos Medical has a beta of 1.09, suggesting that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for DexCom and Avanos Medical, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
DexCom	1	5	19	3	2.86
Avanos Medical	2	0	0	0	1.00

DexCom currently has a consensus price target of $86.61, indicating a potential upside of 28.18%. Given DexCom’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe DexCom is more favorable than Avanos Medical.

Profitability

This table compares DexCom and Avanos Medical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
DexCom	15.96%	30.65%	10.56%
Avanos Medical	-67.00%	6.21%	4.58%

Summary

DexCom beats Avanos Medical on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About DexCom

DexCom, Inc., a medical device company, focuses on the design, development, and commercialization of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems in the United States and internationally. The company provides its systems for use by people with diabetes, as well as for use by healthcare providers. Its products include Dexcom G6 and Dexcom G7, integrated CGM systems for diabetes management; Dexcom Share, a remote monitoring system; Dexcom Real-Time API, which enables authorized third-party software developers to integrate real-time CGM data into their digital health apps and devices; and Dexcom ONE, that is designed to replace finger stick blood glucose testing for diabetes treatment decisions. It has also submitted FDA review for Dexcom Stelo for people with type 2 diabetes. The company has a collaboration and license agreement with Verily Life Sciences LLC and Verily Ireland Limited to develop blood-based or interstitial glucose monitoring products. It markets its products directly to endocrinologists, physicians, and diabetes educators. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About Avanos Medical

Avanos Medical, Inc., a medical technology company, offers medical device solutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. It offers a portfolio of chronic care products that include digestive health products, such as Mic-Key enteral feeding tubes, Corpak patient feeding solutions, and NeoMed neonatal and pediatric feeding solutions. The company also provides a portfolio of non-opioid pain solutions, including surgical pain and recovery products, such as ON-Q and ambIT surgical pain pumps, Game Ready cold, and compression therapy systems. In addition, it offers interventional pain solutions, which offers minimally invasive pain-relieving therapies, such as Coolief pain relief therapy; OrthogenRx's knee osteoarthritis hyaluronic acid pain relief injection products; and Trident radiofrequency ablation products to treat chronic pain conditions. It markets its products directly to hospitals and other healthcare providers, healthcare facilities, and other end-user customers, as well as through third-party wholesale distributors. The company was formerly known as Halyard Health, Inc. and changed its name to Avanos Medical, Inc. in June 2018. Avanos Medical, Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia.