Head to Head Comparison: Solventum (NYSE:SOLV) vs. Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI)

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) and Solventum (NYSE:SOLV) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, earnings, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Merit Medical Systems and Solventum’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Merit Medical Systems	9.22%	13.75%	8.10%
Solventum	17.26%	25.09%	8.78%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

99.7% of Merit Medical Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Merit Medical Systems shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Solventum shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Merit Medical Systems has a beta of 0.51, meaning that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Solventum has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Merit Medical Systems and Solventum, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Merit Medical Systems	0	4	8	0	2.67
Solventum	1	3	10	0	2.64

Merit Medical Systems presently has a consensus price target of $100.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.16%. Solventum has a consensus price target of $92.80, indicating a potential upside of 8.02%. Given Solventum’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Solventum is more favorable than Merit Medical Systems.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Merit Medical Systems and Solventum”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Merit Medical Systems	$1.52 billion	3.71	$128.49 million	$2.42	38.93
Solventum	$8.32 billion	1.76	$1.56 billion	$8.18	10.50

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

Summary

Solventum beats Merit Medical Systems on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Merit Medical Systems

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and markets single-use medical products for interventional, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Cardiovascular and Endoscopy. The company provides micropuncture kits, angiographic needles, sheaths, guide wires, and safety products; peripheral intervention, including angiography, drainage, delivery systems, and embolotherapy products; spine products, such as vertebral augmentation, radiofrequency ablation, and bone biopsy systems; oncology products; and cardiac intervention products, such as access, angiography, electrophysiology and cardiac rhythm management, fluid management, hemodynamic monitoring, hemostasis, and intervention to treat various heart conditions. It also offers custom procedural solutions that include critical care products, disinfection protection systems, syringes, manifold kits, and trays and packs; coating services for medical tubes and wires; and sensor components for microelectromechanical systems. In addition, the company provides pulmonary products that consist of laser-cut tracheobronchial stents, over-the-wire and direct visualization delivery systems, and dilation balloons to endoscopically dilate structures; gastroenterology products, such as covered esophageal stents, syringe and gauges, and balloon dilators; and kits and accessories for endoscopy and bronchoscopy procedures. It sells its products to hospitals and alternate site-based physicians, technicians, and nurses through direct sales force, distributors, original equipment manufacturer partners, or custom procedure tray manufacturers. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in South Jordan, Utah.

About Solventum

Solventum Corporation, a healthcare company, engages in the developing, manufacturing, and commercializing a portfolio of solutions to address critical customer and patient needs. It operates through four segments: Medsurg, Dental Solutions, Health Information Systems, and Purification and Filtration. The Medsurg segment is a provider of solutions including advanced wound care, I.V. site management, sterilization assurance, temperature management, surgical supplies, stethoscopes, and medical electrodes. The Dental Solutions segment provides a comprehensive suite of dental and orthodontic products including brackets, aligners, restorative cements, and bonding agents. The Health Information Systems provides software solutions including computer-assisted, physician documentation, direct-to-bill and coding automation, classification methodologies, speech, recognition, and data visualization platforms. The Purification and Filtration segment provides purification and filtration technologies including filters, purifiers, cartridges, and membranes. The company was incorporated in 2023 and is based in Saint Paul, Minnesota.