Head-To-Head Analysis: Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) vs. So-Young International (NASDAQ:SY)

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) and So-Young International (NASDAQ:SY) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

Risk and Volatility

Icon has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, So-Young International has a beta of 1.98, indicating that its share price is 98% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.6% of Icon shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.3% of So-Young International shares are held by institutional investors. 44.0% of Icon shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 16.7% of So-Young International shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Icon and So-Young International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Icon	7.40%	10.58%	6.01%
So-Young International	-51.26%	-10.07%	-7.08%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Icon and So-Young International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Icon	$8.28 billion	1.78	$791.47 million	$7.39	24.74
So-Young International	$200.94 million	1.32	-$80.76 million	($0.99)	-2.66

Icon has higher revenue and earnings than So-Young International. So-Young International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Icon, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Icon and So-Young International, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Icon	0	11	8	2	2.57
So-Young International	1	0	1	0	2.00

Icon presently has a consensus price target of $205.31, suggesting a potential upside of 12.29%. So-Young International has a consensus price target of $5.50, suggesting a potential upside of 109.13%. Given So-Young International’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe So-Young International is more favorable than Icon.

Summary

Icon beats So-Young International on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About So-Young International

So-Young International Inc. operates an online platform for consumption healthcare services in the People's Republic of China. The company offers So-Young Mobile App that offers users medical aesthetic knowledge and experience to reach an informed medical aesthetic treatment decision and make reservations for treatment with medical professionals and medical aesthetic institutions; So-Young Beauty which provides similar interfaces and functions as the mobile app, as well as serves as additional access points to the platform; and medical aesthetic community content through its website soyoung.com. It provides content in various media formats on its online platform generated by users, including professional generated, content from in-house editorial team that shares opinions on specific new medical procedures and trends; user generated content comprising Beauty Diaries that provides details about medical institution, doctor, price, and other information on the treatment; professional user generated, contents from the medical aesthetic influencers; and doctor generated, content from doctors to generate knowledge. In addition, the company offers consumption healthcare services, including dermatology, dentistry and orthodontics, physical examinations, gynecology, and postnatal care; reservation services; and software as a service. Further, it engages in research and development, production, sales, and agency of laser and other optoelectronic medical beauty equipment; manufacture and sells light therapy device, surgical laser device and other equipment; internet information and technology advisory; online medical treatment and consultation; management consulting; internet culture; micro finance services, as well as sells cosmetics products. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Beijing, China.