Exagen (NASDAQ:XGN – Get Free Report) and QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL – Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and valuation.
Risk & Volatility
Exagen has a beta of 2.02, indicating that its stock price is 102% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, QuidelOrtho has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Exagen and QuidelOrtho’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Exagen | -29.49% | -94.37% | -28.96% |
| QuidelOrtho | -45.57% | 4.25% | 1.56% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Exagen and QuidelOrtho”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Exagen | $66.57 million | 1.69 | -$19.95 million | ($0.89) | -5.25 |
| QuidelOrtho | $2.73 billion | 0.35 | -$1.13 billion | ($17.82) | -0.79 |
Exagen has higher earnings, but lower revenue than QuidelOrtho. Exagen is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than QuidelOrtho, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Exagen and QuidelOrtho, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Exagen | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2.78 |
| QuidelOrtho | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.50 |
Exagen presently has a consensus price target of $9.25, suggesting a potential upside of 98.07%. QuidelOrtho has a consensus price target of $14.88, suggesting a potential upside of 5.27%. Given Exagen’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Exagen is more favorable than QuidelOrtho.
Summary
Exagen beats QuidelOrtho on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Exagen
Exagen Inc. develops and commercializes various testing products under the AVISE brand in the United States. The company enables healthcare providers to care for patients through the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of autoimmune and autoimmune-related diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Its lead testing product is AVISE CTD that enables differential diagnosis for patients presenting with symptoms indicative of various connective tissue diseases (CTDs) and other related diseases with overlapping symptoms. The company offers AVISE Lupus that measures activation of the complement system by quantifying the level of B-cell C4d and erythrocyte bound C4d in the patient's blood; and AVISE APS, which consists of a panel of autoantibody tests that aids in the diagnosis and management of APS. In addition, it provides AVISE Vasculitis AAV, which utilizes a testing panel of individual analytes to provide physicians with results in the assessment and monitoring of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody associated vasculitis; AVISE SLE Prognostic, a panel of autoantibodies for assessing the potential for complications affecting the kidney, brain, and cardiovascular system; and AVISE Anti-CarP test, which identifies RA patients with severe disease. Further, the company offers AVISE SLE Monitor, a biomarker blood test; AVISE MTX, a patented and validated blood test; and AVISE HCQ, a blood test to monitor levels of hydroxychloroquine. It has a research collaboration and license agreement with Allegheny Health Network (AHN) Research Institute to develop novel patented biomarkers. The company was formerly known as Exagen Diagnostics, Inc. and changed its name to Exagen Inc. in January 2019. Exagen Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Vista, California.
About QuidelOrtho
QuidelOrtho Corporation provides diagnostic testing solutions. The company operates through Labs, Transfusion Medicine, Point-of-Care, and Molecular Diagnostics business units. The Labs business unit provides clinical chemistry laboratory instruments and tests that measure target chemicals in bodily fluids for the evaluation of health and the clinical management of patients; immunoassay laboratory instruments and tests, which measure proteins as they act as antigens in the spread of disease, antibodies in the immune response spurred by disease, or markers of proper organ function and health; testing products to detect and monitor disease progression across a spectrum of therapeutic areas; and specialized diagnostic solutions. The Transfusion Medicine business unit offers immunohematology instruments and tests used for blood typing to ensure patient-donor compatibility in blood transfusions; and donor screening instruments and tests used for blood and plasma screening for infectious diseases. The Point-of-Care business unit provides instruments and tests to provide rapid results across a continuum of point-of-care settings. The Molecular Diagnostics business unit offers polymerase chain reaction thermocyclers; amplification systems; and sample-to-result molecular instruments and tests for syndromic infectious disease diagnostics. The company sells its products directly to end users through a direct sales force; and through a network of distributors for professional use in physician offices, hospitals, clinical laboratories, reference laboratories, urgent care clinics, universities, retail clinics, pharmacies, wellness screening centers, blood banks, and donor centers, as well as for individual, non-professional, and over-the-counter use. It operates in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China, and internationally. The company was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
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