Wellgistics Health (NASDAQ:MEDS) versus Auna (NYSE:AUNA) Critical Analysis

Auna (NYSE:AUNA) and Wellgistics Health (NASDAQ:MEDS) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Auna and Wellgistics Health’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Auna	0.44%	12.88%	3.24%
Wellgistics Health	-1,100.16%	N/A	-171.81%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

5.7% of Wellgistics Health shares are owned by institutional investors. 29.1% of Wellgistics Health shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Auna and Wellgistics Health”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Auna	$1.23 billion	0.31	$27.39 million	$0.07	73.64
Wellgistics Health	$23.34 million	0.31	-$101.28 million	($46.13)	-0.05

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

Risk and Volatility

Auna has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Wellgistics Health has a beta of -3.51, suggesting that its stock price is 451% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Auna and Wellgistics Health, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Auna	1	2	1	1	2.40
Wellgistics Health	1	0	0	0	1.00

Auna currently has a consensus target price of $6.97, indicating a potential upside of 35.14%. Given Auna’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Auna is more favorable than Wellgistics Health.

Summary

Auna beats Wellgistics Health on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Auna

Auna S.A., a healthcare service provider, operates hospitals and clinics in Mexico, Peru, and Colombia. The company provides prepaid healthcare plans in Peru; and dental and vision plans in Mexico. The company was founded in 1989 and is based in Luxembourg, Luxembourg.

About Wellgistics Health

Founded in 2022, Wellgistics Health is a holding company for various existing and planned strategic businesses centered around pharmaceuticals and healthcare services. As a micro health ecosystem, our portfolio of companies consists of a pharmacy, wholesale operations, and a technology division with a novel platform for hub and clinical services. We are focused on improving the lives of patients while delivering unique solutions for pharmacies, providers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and payors. In January 2023 and May 2023, Wellgistics Health entered into separate definitive agreements with the owners of Wood Sage and Wellgistics LLC, respectively, whereby Wellgistics Health would acquire all of the respective outstanding membership interests of Wood Sage and Wellgistics LLC. In June 2024, Wellgistics Health and Wood Sage entered into an amended and revised definitive agreement and closed on the Wood Sage Acquisition, thereby making Wood Sage a wholly owned subsidiary of Wellgistics Health. In connection with the Wood Sage Acquisition, Wellgistics Health acquired Wood Sage’s two operating subsidiaries, APS—a pharmaceutical technology hub—and CSP—a retail community specialty pharmacy. On August 30, 2024, Wellgistics Health closed on the Wellgistics Acquisition, thereby making Wellgistics LLC—a company focused on wholesale operations including the distribution and fulfillment of certain pharmaceutical medications to a network of independent pharmacies meant to improve market access to and patient outcomes regarding the medications—a wholly owned subsidiary of Wellgistics Health. As such, Wellgistics Health currently exists as a holding company with Wood Sage as a directly held intermediate holding company subsidiary, APS and CSP as indirect operating subsidiaries, and Wellgistics LLC as a direct operating subsidiary. On October 4, 2024, the Company changed its corporate name to “Wellgistics Health, Inc.” by filing a duly authorized Certificate of Amendment to its Certificate of Incorporation. Despite that Wellgistics Health only recently closed the Wood Sage Acquisition and the Wellgistics Acquisition during 2024, the three companies have shared common office space, comarketed solutions to the marketplace, and leveraged financial and back-office support prior to June 2024. As such, Wellgistics Health’s management believes that its close business relationships have and will continue to limit the need for post-closing integration. The mailing address of our principal executive office is 3000 Bayport Drive, Suite 950 Tampa, FL.