Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT – Get Free Report) and Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG – Get Free Report) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and analyst recommendations.
Profitability
This table compares Veracyte and Intuitive Surgical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Veracyte | 20.37% | 9.26% | 8.61% |
| Intuitive Surgical | 28.45% | 16.91% | 14.83% |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Veracyte and Intuitive Surgical”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Veracyte | $561.90 million | 6.58 | $66.35 million | $1.41 | 32.85 |
| Intuitive Surgical | $11.03 billion | 11.31 | $2.86 billion | $8.73 | 40.47 |
Intuitive Surgical has higher revenue and earnings than Veracyte. Veracyte is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Intuitive Surgical, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
83.6% of Intuitive Surgical shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of Veracyte shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Intuitive Surgical shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Veracyte and Intuitive Surgical, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Veracyte | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2.60 |
| Intuitive Surgical | 1 | 8 | 20 | 0 | 2.66 |
Veracyte currently has a consensus target price of $57.38, suggesting a potential upside of 23.87%. Intuitive Surgical has a consensus target price of $509.02, suggesting a potential upside of 44.06%. Given Intuitive Surgical’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Intuitive Surgical is more favorable than Veracyte.
Risk and Volatility
Veracyte has a beta of 1.93, suggesting that its share price is 93% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Intuitive Surgical has a beta of 1.46, suggesting that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Intuitive Surgical beats Veracyte on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Veracyte
Veracyte, Inc. engages in the research, development and commercialization of diagnostic products. The firm’s portfolio includes Afirma, Percepta, and Envisia. It intends to treat thyroid cancer, improve lung cancer screening, and clarify the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The company was founded by Bonnie H. Anderson and Y. Douglas Dolginow on August 15, 2006 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, CA.
About Intuitive Surgical
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets products that enable physicians and healthcare providers to enhance the quality of and access to minimally invasive care in the United States and internationally. The company offers the da Vinci Surgical System that enables complex surgery using a minimally invasive approach; and Ion endoluminal system, which extends its commercial offerings beyond surgery into diagnostic procedures enabling minimally invasive biopsies in the lung. It also provides a suite of stapling, energy, and core instrumentation for its multi-port da Vinci surgical systems; progressive learning pathways to support the use of its technology; infrastructure of service and support specialists, a complement of services to its customers, including installation, repair, maintenance, 24/7 technical support, and proactive system health monitoring; and integrated digital capabilities providing connected offerings, streamlining performance for hospitals with program-enhancing insights. The company sells its products through direct sales organizations, such as capital and clinical sales teams. It has a collaboration agreement with FluoGuide A/S for head & neck cancer. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.
Receive News & Ratings for Veracyte Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Veracyte and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
