Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) and LivaNova (NASDAQ:LIVN) Critical Survey

LivaNova (NASDAQ:LIVN) and Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares LivaNova and Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LivaNova	-17.46%	16.54%	7.30%
Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA	5.03%	8.73%	4.02%

Risk & Volatility

LivaNova has a beta of 0.92, indicating that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has a beta of 0.91, indicating that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares LivaNova and Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LivaNova	$1.39 billion	2.45	-$242.47 million	($4.46)	-13.91
Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA	$22.20 billion	0.61	$1.11 billion	$1.91	12.27

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has higher revenue and earnings than LivaNova. LivaNova is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for LivaNova and Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LivaNova	1	2	7	0	2.60
Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA	4	4	1	0	1.67

LivaNova presently has a consensus target price of $74.78, suggesting a potential upside of 20.49%. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has a consensus target price of $28.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.52%. Given LivaNova’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe LivaNova is more favorable than Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

97.6% of LivaNova shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 8.4% of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of LivaNova shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

LivaNova beats Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LivaNova

LivaNova PLC, a medical device company, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells therapeutic solutions worldwide. The company operates through Cardiopulmonary, Neuromodulation, and Advanced Circulatory Support segments. The Cardiopulmonary segment develops, produces, and sells cardiopulmonary products, including oxygenators, heart-lung machines, autotransfusion systems, perfusion tubing systems, cannulae, connect, and other related products. The Neuromodulation segment designs, develops, markets, and sells VNS Therapy System, an implantable pulse generator and connective lead that stimulates the vagus nerve; difficult-to-treat depression and drug-resistant epilepsy devices. The Advanced Circulatory Support segment develops, produces, and sells temporary life support products. It serves perfusionists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, and other physicians, as well as hospitals, other medical institutions, and healthcare providers. The company sells its products through direct sales representatives and independent distributors. LivaNova PLC was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA

Fresenius Medical Care AG provides dialysis and related services for individuals with renal diseases in Germany, North America, and internationally. The company offers dialysis treatment and related laboratory and diagnostic services through a network of outpatient dialysis clinics; materials, training, and patient support services comprising clinical monitoring, follow-up assistance, and arranging for delivery of the supplies to the patient's residence; and dialysis services under contract to hospitals in the United States for the hospitalized end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients and for patients suffering from acute kidney failure. It also develops, manufactures, and distributes various health care products, including polysulfone dialyzers, hemodialysis machines, peritoneal dialysis cyclers, peritoneal dialysis solutions, hemodialysis concentrates, solutions and granulates, bloodlines, renal pharmaceuticals, systems for water treatment, and acute cardiopulmonary and apheresis products. In addition, the company develops, acquires, and in-licenses renal pharmaceuticals; offers renal medications and supplies to patients at homes or to dialysis clinics; and provides vascular, cardiovascular, endovascular specialty, vascular care ambulatory surgery center, and physician nephrology and cardiology services. The company sells its products to dialysis clinics, hospitals, and specialized treatment clinics directly, as well as through local sales forces, independent distributors, dealers, and sales agents. Fresenius Medical Care AG was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Bad Homburg, Germany.