Comparing Waters (NYSE:WAT) & Adagio Medical (NASDAQ:ADGM)

Waters (NYSE:WAT) and Adagio Medical (NASDAQ:ADGM) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Waters and Adagio Medical”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Waters	$3.17 billion	9.23	$642.63 million	$10.77	27.64
Adagio Medical	$600,000.00	39.32	-$25.08 million	($1.73)	-0.64

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.0% of Waters shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.1% of Adagio Medical shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Waters shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.2% of Adagio Medical shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Waters and Adagio Medical, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Waters	0	9	9	2	2.65
Adagio Medical	1	0	1	0	2.00

Waters currently has a consensus target price of $391.00, suggesting a potential upside of 31.36%. Adagio Medical has a consensus target price of $4.00, suggesting a potential upside of 259.07%. Given Adagio Medical’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Adagio Medical is more favorable than Waters.

Profitability

This table compares Waters and Adagio Medical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Waters	20.30%	34.79%	16.29%
Adagio Medical	N/A	-380.96%	-69.19%

Volatility and Risk

Waters has a beta of 1.2, indicating that its stock price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Adagio Medical has a beta of 0.12, indicating that its stock price is 88% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Waters beats Adagio Medical on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Waters

Waters Corporation provides analytical workflow solutions in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through two segments: Waters and TA. The company designs, manufactures, sells, and services high and ultra-performance liquid chromatography, as well as mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products, and post-warranty service plans. It also designs, manufactures, sells, and services thermal analysis, rheometry, and calorimetry instruments; and develops and supplies software-based products that interface with its instruments, as well as other manufacturers' instruments. In addition, the company offers MS technology instruments are used in drug discovery and development comprising clinical trial testing, the analysis of proteins in disease processes, nutritional safety analysis, and environmental testing. Further, the company provides thermal analysis, rheometry, and calorimetry instruments for use in predicting the suitability and stability of fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, water, polymers, metals, and viscous liquids for various industrial, consumer good, and healthcare products, as well as for life science research. Its products are used by clinical, pharmaceutical, biochemical, industrial, nutritional safety, environmental, academic, and governmental customers working in research and development, quality assurance, and other laboratory applications. The company was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Milford, Massachusetts.

About Adagio Medical

Adagio Medical Holdings, Inc., a developmental stage medical device company, focuses on the development and commercialization of ablation technologies for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. It offers treatment for cardiac arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and ventricular tachycardia. The company’s product portfolio includes iCLAS atrial ultra-low temperature cryoablation (ULTC) catheter and accessories; vCLAS ventricular ULTC catheter; and Cryopulse atrial pulsed-field cryoablation catheter and accessories. The company is based in Laguna Hills, California.