Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH) vs. Artivion (NYSE:AORT) Critical Review

Artivion (NYSE:AORT) and Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Artivion and Zimmer Biomet’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Artivion	-3.65%	5.11%	2.42%
Zimmer Biomet	8.95%	13.02%	7.17%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

86.4% of Artivion shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.9% of Zimmer Biomet shares are held by institutional investors. 6.3% of Artivion shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Zimmer Biomet shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Artivion and Zimmer Biomet”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Artivion	$441.33 million	2.24	$9.77 million	($0.07)	-289.07
Zimmer Biomet	$8.57 billion	2.35	$705.20 million	$3.95	26.69

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

Volatility & Risk

Artivion has a beta of 1.31, meaning that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zimmer Biomet has a beta of 0.5, meaning that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Artivion and Zimmer Biomet, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Artivion	1	0	6	0	2.71
Zimmer Biomet	1	16	7	0	2.25

Artivion presently has a consensus price target of $39.00, suggesting a potential upside of 92.74%. Zimmer Biomet has a consensus price target of $111.95, suggesting a potential upside of 6.17%. Given Artivion’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Artivion is more favorable than Zimmer Biomet.

Summary

Zimmer Biomet beats Artivion on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Artivion

Artivion, Inc. manufactures, processes, and distributes medical devices and implantable human tissues worldwide. The company provides BioGlue, a polymer consisting of bovine blood protein and an agent for cross-linking proteins for cardiac, vascular, neurologic, and pulmonary procedures; cardiac preservation services; PhotoFix, a bovine pericardial patch; and aortic arch stent grafts including E-vita Open Plus and E-vita Open Neo. It offers E-xtra design engineering systems for the treatment of aortic vascular diseases; E-nside, an off-the-shelf stent graft for the treatment of thoraco-abdominal disease; E-vita THORACIC 3G for the endovascular treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms; E-ventus BX, a balloon-expandable peripheral stent graft for the endovascular treatment of renal and pelvic arteries; E-liac to treat aneurysmal iliac arteries, and aneurysmal iliac side branches; and E-tegra, a stent graft system for the treatment of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms. In addition, the company offers synthetic vascular grafts for use in open aortic and peripheral vascular surgical procedures; PerClot, an absorbable powdered hemostat for use in surgical procedures; cardiac laser therapy products for angina treatment; CryoVein femoral vein and CryoArtery femoral artery vascular preservation services; On-X prosthetic aortic and mitral heart valves and the On-X ascending aortic prosthesis; CarbonAid CO2 diffusion catheters and Chord-X ePTFE sutures for mitral chordal replacement; and ascyrus medical dissection stents, as well as pyrolytic carbon coating services to medical device manufacturers. It serves physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities, as well as cardiac, vascular, thoracic, and general surgeons. The company was formerly known as CryoLife, Inc. and changed its name to Artivion, Inc. in January 2022. Artivion, Inc. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Kennesaw, Georgia.

About Zimmer Biomet

Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a medical technology company worldwide. The company designs, manufactures, and markets orthopedic reconstructive products, such as knee and hip products; S.E.T. products, including sports medicine, biologics, foot and ankle, extremities, and trauma products; craniomaxillofacial and thoracic products comprising face and skull reconstruction products, as well as products that fixate and stabilize the bones of the chest to facilitate healing or reconstruction after open heart surgery, trauma, or for deformities of the chest. It also offers robotic, surgical, and bone cement products. The company's products and solutions are used to treat patients suffering from disorders of, or injuries to, bones, joints, or supporting soft tissues. It serves orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, hospitals, stocking distributors, healthcare dealers, and other specialists, as well as agents, healthcare purchasing organizations, or buying groups. The company was formerly known as Zimmer Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. in June 2015. Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana.