Contrasting Alpha Teknova (NASDAQ:TKNO) & Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR)

Alpha Teknova (NASDAQ:TKNO) and Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Alpha Teknova and Icon”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alpha Teknova	$43.70 million	11.45	-$17.26 million	($0.31)	-30.10
Icon	$8.29 billion	1.59	$229.34 million	$4.26	40.45

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Alpha Teknova and Icon, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alpha Teknova	1	1	3	0	2.40
Icon	2	7	7	1	2.41

Alpha Teknova currently has a consensus price target of $8.00, indicating a potential downside of 14.26%. Icon has a consensus price target of $170.07, indicating a potential downside of 1.31%. Given Icon’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Icon is more favorable than Alpha Teknova.

Profitability

This table compares Alpha Teknova and Icon’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alpha Teknova	-38.37%	-24.94%	-16.53%
Icon	3.99%	8.02%	4.56%

Volatility & Risk

Alpha Teknova has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Icon has a beta of 1.2, indicating that its stock price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

13.8% of Alpha Teknova shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.6% of Icon shares are held by institutional investors. 13.2% of Alpha Teknova shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 44.0% of Icon shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Icon beats Alpha Teknova on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alpha Teknova

Alpha Teknova, Inc. produces critical reagents for the research, discovery, development, and commercialization of novel therapies, vaccines, and molecular diagnostics in the United States and internationally. The company offers pre-poured media plates for cell growth and cloning; liquid cell culture media and supplements for cellular expansion; and molecular biology reagents for sample manipulation, resuspension, and purification. It provides lab essentials which provides chemical formulations for use in biological research and drug discovery; and clinical solutions, a custom product used in the development and production of protein therapies, gene therapies, mRNA vaccines, and diagnostic kits. The company serves its products to life sciences market, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract development and manufacturing organizations, in vitro diagnostic franchises, as well as academic and government research institutions. Alpha Teknova, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Hollister, California.

About Icon

ICON Public Limited Company, a clinical research organization, provides outsourced development and commercialization services in Ireland, rest of Europe, the United States, and internationally. The company specializes in the strategic development, management, and analysis of programs that support various stages of the clinical development process from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies. It also offers clinical development services, including all phases of development, peri and post approval, data solutions, and site and patient access services; clinical trial management, consulting, and contract staffing services; and commercial services comprising clinical development strategy, planning and trial design, full study execution, and post-market commercialization. In addition, the company provides laboratory services, including bionanalytical, biomarker, vaccine, good manufacturing practice, and central laboratory services, as well as full-service and functional service partnerships to customers. Further, it offers adaptive trials, cardiac safety solutions, clinical and scientific operations, consulting and advisory, commercial positioning, decentralized and hybrid clinical trials, early clinical, laboratories, language services, medical imaging, real world intelligence, site and patient, and strategic solutions. The company serves pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries, as well as government and public health organizations. ICON Public Limited Company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.