Head-To-Head Survey: Pulse Biosciences (NASDAQ:PLSE) versus Varex Imaging (NASDAQ:VREX)

Varex Imaging (NASDAQ:VREX) and Pulse Biosciences (NASDAQ:PLSE) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Varex Imaging and Pulse Biosciences”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Varex Imaging	$865.00 million	0.90	-$70.30 million	$0.52	35.42
Pulse Biosciences	$350,000.00	10,725.19	-$72.78 million	($1.18)	-44.93

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Varex Imaging and Pulse Biosciences, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Varex Imaging	0	7	0	0	2.00
Pulse Biosciences	1	0	5	1	2.86

Varex Imaging currently has a consensus price target of $16.88, suggesting a potential downside of 8.39%. Pulse Biosciences has a consensus price target of $60.20, suggesting a potential upside of 13.54%. Given Pulse Biosciences’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Pulse Biosciences is more favorable than Varex Imaging.

Risk & Volatility

Varex Imaging has a beta of 0.97, meaning that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pulse Biosciences has a beta of 1.57, meaning that its stock price is 57% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

77.0% of Pulse Biosciences shares are held by institutional investors. 4.6% of Varex Imaging shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 74.0% of Pulse Biosciences shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Varex Imaging and Pulse Biosciences’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Varex Imaging	2.55%	9.19%	4.13%
Pulse Biosciences	-6,755.78%	-94.42%	-79.96%

Summary

Pulse Biosciences beats Varex Imaging on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Varex Imaging

Varex Imaging Corporation designs, manufactures, and sells X-ray imaging components. The company operates through two segments, Medical and Industrial. The Medical segment designs, manufactures, sells, and services X-ray imaging components, comprising X-ray tubes, digital detectors and accessories, ionization chambers, high voltage connectors, image-processing software and workstations, 3D reconstruction software, computer-aided diagnostic software, collimators, automatic exposure control devices, generators, and heat exchangers. This segment's products are used in a range of applications, including CT, mammography, oncology, cardiac, surgery, dental, and other diagnostic radiography uses. The Industrial segment designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and services Linatron X-ray linear accelerators, X-ray tubes, digital detectors, high voltage connectors, and coolers for use in security and inspection applications, such as baggage screening at airports, cargo screening at ports and borders, and nondestructive testing, irradiation, and inspection in various applications. The company sells its products through imaging system original equipment manufacturers, independent service companies, and distributors, as well as directly to end-users. It has operations in North America, South America, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, India, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Varex Imaging Corporation was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

About Pulse Biosciences

Pulse Biosciences, Inc. operates as a novel bioelectric medicine company. The company offers CellFX System, a tunable, software-enabled, and console-based platform that delivers nano second duration pulses of electrical energy to non-thermally clear targeted cells while sparing adjacent non-cellular tissue to treat a various medical condition by using its Nano-Pulse Stimulation technology. The company was formerly known as Electroblate, Inc. and changed its name to Pulse Biosciences, Inc. in December 2015. Pulse Biosciences, Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Hayward, California.