Head to Head Comparison: UFP Technologies (NASDAQ:UFPT) versus Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG)

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) and UFP Technologies (NASDAQ:UFPT) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Intuitive Surgical and UFP Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Intuitive Surgical	1	5	23	1	2.80
UFP Technologies	0	2	0	0	2.00

Intuitive Surgical currently has a consensus price target of $493.54, suggesting a potential upside of 9.28%. Given Intuitive Surgical’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Intuitive Surgical is more favorable than UFP Technologies.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

83.6% of Intuitive Surgical shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.3% of UFP Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Intuitive Surgical shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of UFP Technologies shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Intuitive Surgical and UFP Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Intuitive Surgical	25.54%	18.17%	15.73%
UFP Technologies	11.45%	18.42%	11.96%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Intuitive Surgical and UFP Technologies”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Intuitive Surgical	$10.06 billion	15.55	$2.86 billion	$8.27	54.61
UFP Technologies	$602.80 million	3.74	$68.31 million	$9.28	31.39

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

Volatility and Risk

Intuitive Surgical has a beta of 1.46, indicating that its stock price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, UFP Technologies has a beta of 1.04, indicating that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Intuitive Surgical beats UFP Technologies on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Intuitive Surgical

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets products that enable physicians and healthcare providers to enhance the quality of and access to minimally invasive care in the United States and internationally. The company offers the da Vinci Surgical System that enables complex surgery using a minimally invasive approach; and Ion endoluminal system, which extends its commercial offerings beyond surgery into diagnostic procedures enabling minimally invasive biopsies in the lung. It also provides a suite of stapling, energy, and core instrumentation for its multi-port da Vinci surgical systems; progressive learning pathways to support the use of its technology; infrastructure of service and support specialists, a complement of services to its customers, including installation, repair, maintenance, 24/7 technical support, and proactive system health monitoring; and integrated digital capabilities providing connected offerings, streamlining performance for hospitals with program-enhancing insights. The company sells its products through direct sales organizations, such as capital and clinical sales teams. It has a collaboration agreement with FluoGuide A/S for head & neck cancer. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

About UFP Technologies

UFP Technologies, Inc. designs and manufactures solutions for medical devices, sterile packaging, and other highly engineered custom products. The company offers protective drapes for robotic surgery, single patient use surfaces, advanced wound care, infection prevention, disposables for surgical and endoscopic procedures, packaging for medical devices, orthopedic implants, biopharma drug manufacturing, and coils for catheters; and molded components for applications in acoustic insulation, interior trim, load floors, sunshades, SUV cargo cover handles, driveshaft damping, engine and manifold covers, quarter panels, and wheel liners. It also provides molded composites for commercial aviation and military gear for use in backpack components, knee and elbow pads, eyewear, and helmets; and reusable cases and custom for applications in military ballistics panels, virtual training systems, drones, communications equipment, and rugged portable computers. In addition, the company provides engineered products and components to customers in the automotive, aerospace and defense, and industrial markets for applications in military uniform and gear components, automotive interior trim, air filtration, and protective cases and inserts. It markets and sells its products through a direct sales force. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Newburyport, Massachusetts.