Senseonics Holdings, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ:SENS) & Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Critical Contrast

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) and Senseonics Holdings, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ:SENS) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

90.2% of Baxter International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.4% of Senseonics Holdings, Inc. Common Stock shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Baxter International shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.7% of Senseonics Holdings, Inc. Common Stock shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Baxter International and Senseonics Holdings, Inc. Common Stock, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Baxter International	2	9	2	0	2.00
Senseonics Holdings, Inc. Common Stock	1	1	4	0	2.50

Baxter International presently has a consensus price target of $22.45, indicating a potential downside of 15.77%. Senseonics Holdings, Inc. Common Stock has a consensus price target of $17.20, indicating a potential upside of 85.95%. Given Senseonics Holdings, Inc. Common Stock’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Senseonics Holdings, Inc. Common Stock is more favorable than Baxter International.

Risk and Volatility

Baxter International has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Senseonics Holdings, Inc. Common Stock has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Baxter International and Senseonics Holdings, Inc. Common Stock”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Baxter International	$11.24 billion	1.23	-$957.00 million	($2.07)	-12.88
Senseonics Holdings, Inc. Common Stock	$35.26 million	10.97	-$69.11 million	($2.23)	-4.15

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

Profitability

This table compares Baxter International and Senseonics Holdings, Inc. Common Stock’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Baxter International	-9.27%	16.57%	5.24%
Senseonics Holdings, Inc. Common Stock	-225.09%	-165.80%	-80.14%

Summary

Senseonics Holdings, Inc. Common Stock beats Baxter International on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Senseonics Holdings, Inc. Common Stock

Senseonics Holdings, Inc., a medical technology company, develops and commercializes continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems for people with diabetes in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company’s products include Eversense and Eversense XL, which are implantable CGM systems to measure glucose levels in people with diabetes through an under-the-skin sensor, a removable and rechargeable smart transmitter, and a convenient app for real-time diabetes monitoring and management for a period of up to six months. It serves healthcare providers and patients through a network of distributors and strategic fulfillment partners. The company has a collaboration agreement with the University Hospitals Accountable Care Organization. Senseonics Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Germantown, Maryland.