STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) versus LivaNova (NASDAQ:LIVN) Financial Review

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) and LivaNova (NASDAQ:LIVN) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares STAAR Surgical and LivaNova’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
STAAR Surgical	1.13%	9.05%	6.99%
LivaNova	12.82%	16.35%	7.76%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

96.7% of STAAR Surgical shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.6% of LivaNova shares are owned by institutional investors. 39.9% of STAAR Surgical shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of LivaNova shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for STAAR Surgical and LivaNova, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
STAAR Surgical	3	8	2	0	1.92
LivaNova	0	5	6	0	2.55

STAAR Surgical presently has a consensus price target of $28.40, suggesting a potential upside of 25.33%. LivaNova has a consensus price target of $84.12, suggesting a potential upside of 7.60%. Given STAAR Surgical’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe STAAR Surgical is more favorable than LivaNova.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares STAAR Surgical and LivaNova”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
STAAR Surgical	$339.59 million	3.35	-$80.45 million	$0.07	323.71
LivaNova	$1.39 billion	3.10	-$242.47 million	$3.38	23.13

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

Risk & Volatility

STAAR Surgical has a beta of 1.21, indicating that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LivaNova has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

LivaNova beats STAAR Surgical on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About STAAR Surgical

STAAR Surgical Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells implantable lenses for the eye, and companion delivery systems to deliver the lenses into the eye. The company provides implantable Collamer lens product family (ICLs) to treat visual disorders, such as myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and presbyopia. It markets its products to health care providers, including ophthalmic surgeons, vision and surgical centers, hospitals, government facilities, and distributors, as well as products are primarily used by ophthalmologists. The company sells its products directly through its sales representatives in the United States, Japan, Germany, Spain, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Singapore, as well as through own representatives and independent distributors in China, Korea, India, France, Benelux, Italy, and internationally. STAAR Surgical Company was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in Lake Forest, California.

About LivaNova

LivaNova PLC, a medical device company, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells therapeutic solutions worldwide. The company operates through Cardiopulmonary, Neuromodulation, and Advanced Circulatory Support segments. The Cardiopulmonary segment develops, produces, and sells cardiopulmonary products, including oxygenators, heart-lung machines, autotransfusion systems, perfusion tubing systems, cannulae, connect, and other related products. The Neuromodulation segment designs, develops, markets, and sells VNS Therapy System, an implantable pulse generator and connective lead that stimulates the vagus nerve; difficult-to-treat depression and drug-resistant epilepsy devices. The Advanced Circulatory Support segment develops, produces, and sells temporary life support products. It serves perfusionists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, and other physicians, as well as hospitals, other medical institutions, and healthcare providers. The company sells its products through direct sales representatives and independent distributors. LivaNova PLC was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.