Contrasting IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) and Nihon Kohden (OTCMKTS:NHNKY)

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) and Nihon Kohden (OTCMKTS:NHNKY) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares IDEXX Laboratories and Nihon Kohden’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
IDEXX Laboratories	24.63%	70.87%	32.56%
Nihon Kohden	5.32%	7.25%	5.12%

Risk and Volatility

IDEXX Laboratories has a beta of 1.58, meaning that its stock price is 58% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nihon Kohden has a beta of 0.41, meaning that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

87.8% of IDEXX Laboratories shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of Nihon Kohden shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of IDEXX Laboratories shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for IDEXX Laboratories and Nihon Kohden, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
IDEXX Laboratories	0	4	7	0	2.64
Nihon Kohden	0	1	0	1	3.00

IDEXX Laboratories presently has a consensus price target of $751.00, suggesting a potential upside of 41.17%. Given IDEXX Laboratories’ higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe IDEXX Laboratories is more favorable than Nihon Kohden.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares IDEXX Laboratories and Nihon Kohden”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
IDEXX Laboratories	$4.30 billion	9.75	$1.06 billion	$13.58	39.18
Nihon Kohden	$1.48 billion	1.07	$93.05 million	$0.51	18.18

IDEXX Laboratories has higher revenue and earnings than Nihon Kohden. Nihon Kohden is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than IDEXX Laboratories, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

IDEXX Laboratories beats Nihon Kohden on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About IDEXX Laboratories

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. develops, manufactures, and distributes products primarily for the companion animal veterinary, livestock and poultry, dairy, and water testing markets in Africa, the Asia Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Companion Animal Group; Water Quality Products; and Livestock, Poultry and Dairy. It also provides point-of-care veterinary diagnostic products, including instruments, consumables, and rapid assay test kits; veterinary reference laboratory diagnostic and consulting services; practice management and diagnostic imaging systems and services for veterinarians; and health monitoring, biological materials testing, and laboratory diagnostic instruments, and services for biomedical research community. In addition, the company offers diagnostic and health-monitoring products for livestock, poultry, and dairy; products that test water for various microbiological contaminants; point-of-care electrolytes and blood gas analyzers; in-clinic chemistry, blood and urine chemistry, hematology, immunoassay, urinalysis, and coagulation analyzers; and SNAP rapid assays test kits. Further, it provides Colilert, Colilert-18, and Colisure tests, which detect the presence of total coliforms and E. coli in water; Enterolert, Pseudalert, Filta-Max and Filta-Max xpress, Legiolert, and Quanti-Tray products; and veterinary software and services for independent veterinary clinics and corporate groups. Additionally, the company offers human medical point-of-care products and laboratory diagnostics services. The company markets its products through marketing, customer service, sales, and technical service groups, as well as through independent distributors and other resellers. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Westbrook, Maine.

About Nihon Kohden

Nihon Kohden Corporation engages in development, manufacturing, sale, maintenance, and consultation of medical electronic equipment, and related systems and products in Japan, Americas, Europe, rest of Asia, and internationally. It offers physiological measuring equipment comprising electrocardiographs, electroencephalographs, and polygraphs for Cath-labs; patient monitoring systems, such as beside and central monitors; and treatment equipment including defibrillators, automated external defibrillators, ventilators, and pacemakers. The company also provides medical support system, which includes diagnostic and clinical information system; and in-vitro diagnostic equipment comprising hematology and clinical chemistry analyzers. In addition, it operates insurance brokerage and technology licensing business. The company was incorporated in 1951 and is headquartered in Shinjuku, Japan.