Critical Analysis: Amplifon (OTCMKTS:AMFPF) vs. Exagen (NASDAQ:XGN)

Amplifon (OTCMKTS:AMFPF) and Exagen (NASDAQ:XGN) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Amplifon and Exagen’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Amplifon	3.01%	16.90%	4.42%
Exagen	-26.61%	-104.46%	-28.93%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Amplifon and Exagen”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Amplifon	$2.71 billion	0.91	$103.33 million	$0.37	30.30
Exagen	$66.57 million	2.40	-$19.95 million	($0.81)	-8.13

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Amplifon and Exagen, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Amplifon	0	2	2	0	2.50
Exagen	1	0	7	1	2.89

Exagen has a consensus target price of $9.62, suggesting a potential upside of 46.08%. Given Exagen’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Exagen is more favorable than Amplifon.

Risk and Volatility

Amplifon has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Exagen has a beta of 2.05, meaning that its share price is 105% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

75.2% of Exagen shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.4% of Exagen shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Exagen beats Amplifon on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Amplifon

Amplifon S.p.A. engages in the distribution of hearing solutions and the fitting of customized products that help people rediscover various emotions of sound in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers Ampli-easy, Ampli-connect, Ampli-energy, and Ampli-mini hearing devices. It also operates Ampli-care, a platform to deliver audiological care experience; and Amplifon App to manage the device functions in real-time directly from smartphone. Amplifon S.p.A. was founded in 1950 and is headquartered in Milan, Italy. Amplifon S.p.A.

About Exagen

Exagen Inc. develops and commercializes various testing products under the AVISE brand in the United States. The company enables healthcare providers to care for patients through the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of autoimmune and autoimmune-related diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Its lead testing product is AVISE CTD that enables differential diagnosis for patients presenting with symptoms indicative of various connective tissue diseases (CTDs) and other related diseases with overlapping symptoms. The company offers AVISE Lupus that measures activation of the complement system by quantifying the level of B-cell C4d and erythrocyte bound C4d in the patient's blood; and AVISE APS, which consists of a panel of autoantibody tests that aids in the diagnosis and management of APS. In addition, it provides AVISE Vasculitis AAV, which utilizes a testing panel of individual analytes to provide physicians with results in the assessment and monitoring of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody associated vasculitis; AVISE SLE Prognostic, a panel of autoantibodies for assessing the potential for complications affecting the kidney, brain, and cardiovascular system; and AVISE Anti-CarP test, which identifies RA patients with severe disease. Further, the company offers AVISE SLE Monitor, a biomarker blood test; AVISE MTX, a patented and validated blood test; and AVISE HCQ, a blood test to monitor levels of hydroxychloroquine. It has a research collaboration and license agreement with Allegheny Health Network (AHN) Research Institute to develop novel patented biomarkers. The company was formerly known as Exagen Diagnostics, Inc. and changed its name to Exagen Inc. in January 2019. Exagen Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Vista, California.