AdaptHealth (NASDAQ:AHCO) versus Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Critical Review

AdaptHealth (NASDAQ:AHCO) and Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and valuation.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

82.7% of AdaptHealth shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.2% of Baxter International shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of AdaptHealth shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Baxter International shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares AdaptHealth and Baxter International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AdaptHealth	$3.24 billion	0.40	-$70.79 million	($0.62)	-15.58
Baxter International	$11.24 billion	0.90	-$957.00 million	($2.13)	-9.22

AdaptHealth has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Baxter International. AdaptHealth is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Baxter International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for AdaptHealth and Baxter International, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AdaptHealth	1	2	5	0	2.50
Baxter International	3	8	2	0	1.92

AdaptHealth presently has a consensus target price of $14.29, indicating a potential upside of 47.89%. Baxter International has a consensus target price of $19.73, indicating a potential upside of 0.47%. Given AdaptHealth’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe AdaptHealth is more favorable than Baxter International.

Profitability

This table compares AdaptHealth and Baxter International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AdaptHealth	-2.42%	2.76%	0.99%
Baxter International	-9.70%	16.15%	5.24%

Volatility & Risk

AdaptHealth has a beta of 1.47, meaning that its stock price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Baxter International has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

AdaptHealth beats Baxter International on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AdaptHealth

AdaptHealth Corp., together with its subsidiaries, sells home medical equipment (HME), medical supplies, and home and related services in the United States. The company provides sleep therapy equipment, supplies, and related services, such as CPAP and bi-PAP services to individuals suffering from obstructive sleep apnea; medical devices and supplies, including continuous glucose monitors and insulin pumps for the treatment of diabetes; HME to patients discharged from acute care and other facilities; oxygen and related chronic therapy services in the home; and other HME devices and supplies on behalf of chronically ill patients with wound care, urological, incontinence, ostomy, and nutritional supply needs. It also offers wheelchairs, hospital beds, oxygen concentrators, CPAP masks and related supplies, wound care supplies, diabetes management supplies, wheelchair cushion accessories, orthopedic bracing, breast pumps and supplies, walkers, commodes and canes, and nutritional and incontinence supplies. The company services beneficiaries of Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance payors. The company is headquartered in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania.

About Baxter International

Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops and provides a portfolio of healthcare products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Medical Products and Therapies, Healthcare Systems and Technologies, Pharmaceuticals, and Kidney Care. The company offers sterile intravenous (IV) solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition therapies; generic injectable pharmaceuticals; surgical hemostat and sealant products, advanced surgical equipment; smart bed systems; patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies; and respiratory health devices, as well as advanced equipment for the surgical space, including surgical video technologies, precision positioning devices, and other accessories. It also provides administrative sets; adhesion prevention products; inhaled anesthesia; drug compounding; chronic and acute dialysis therapies and services, including peritoneal dialysis (PD), hemodialysis (HD), continuous renal replacement therapies (CRRT), and other organ support therapies. The company’s products are used in hospitals, kidney dialysis centers, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, ambulatory surgery centers, doctors’ offices, and patients at home under physician supervision. The company sells its products through direct sales force, as well as through independent distributors, drug wholesalers, and specialty pharmacy or other alternate site providers in approximately 100 countries. It has an agreement with Celerity Pharmaceutical, LLC to develop acute care generic injectable premix and oncolytic products; and a collaborative research agreement with Miromatrix Medical Inc. aiming to advance care for patients with acute liver failure. Baxter International Inc. was incorporated in 1931 and is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois.