Establishment Labs (NASDAQ:ESTA) & Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Critical Contrast

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) and Establishment Labs (NASDAQ:ESTA) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Medtronic and Establishment Labs’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Medtronic	13.93%	14.78%	7.97%
Establishment Labs	-15.82%	-196.69%	-10.73%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Medtronic and Establishment Labs, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Medtronic	1	9	18	0	2.61
Establishment Labs	1	0	9	0	2.80

Medtronic presently has a consensus target price of $102.88, suggesting a potential upside of 4.09%. Establishment Labs has a consensus target price of $95.00, suggesting a potential upside of 53.13%. Given Establishment Labs’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Establishment Labs is more favorable than Medtronic.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Medtronic and Establishment Labs”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Medtronic	$37.54 billion	3.37	$4.80 billion	$4.06	24.34
Establishment Labs	$264.03 million	7.00	-$51.06 million	($1.28)	-48.47

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

82.1% of Medtronic shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.9% of Establishment Labs shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Medtronic shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 10.0% of Establishment Labs shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Medtronic has a beta of 0.56, suggesting that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Establishment Labs has a beta of 1.06, suggesting that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Medtronic beats Establishment Labs on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Medtronic

Medtronic plc develops, manufactures, and sells device-based medical therapies to healthcare systems, physicians, clinicians, and patients worldwide. Its Cardiovascular Portfolio segment offers implantable cardiac pacemakers, cardioverter defibrillators, and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices; cardiac ablation products; insertable cardiac monitor systems; TYRX products; and remote monitoring and patient-centered software. It also provides aortic valves, surgical valve replacement and repair products, endovascular stent grafts and accessories, and transcatheter pulmonary valves; and percutaneous coronary intervention products, percutaneous angioplasty balloons, and products. The company's Medical Surgical Portfolio segment offers surgical stapling devices, vessel sealing instruments, wound closure, electrosurgery products, surgical artificial intelligence and robotic-assisted surgery products, hernia mechanical devices, mesh implants, gynecology and lung products, and various therapies to treat diseases, as well as products in the fields of minimally invasive gastrointestinal and hepatologic diagnostics and therapies, patient monitoring, airway management and ventilation therapies, and renal disease. Its Neuroscience Portfolio segment offers products for spinal surgeons; neurosurgeons; neurologists; pain management specialists; anesthesiologists; orthopedic surgeons; urologists; urogynecologists; interventional radiologists; ear, nose, and throat specialists; and systems that incorporate energy surgical instruments. It also provides image-guided surgery and intra-operative imaging systems and robotic guidance systems used in robot assisted spine procedures; and therapies for vasculature in and around the brain. The company's Diabetes Operating Unit segment offers insulin pumps and consumables, continuous glucose monitoring systems, smart insulin pen systems, and consumables and supplies. The company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

About Establishment Labs

Establishment Labs Holdings Inc., a medical technology company, manufactures and markets medical devices for aesthetic and reconstructive plastic surgery. The company primarily offers silicone gel-filled breast implants under the Motiva Implants brand. It also provides Motiva Ergonomix and Motiva Ergonomix2 gravity sensitive round soft silicone-gel-filled breast implants; and Motiva Flora Tissue Expander, a breast tissue expander. The company sells its products to physicians, hospitals, and clinics through distributors and direct sales force in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. Establishment Labs Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Alajuela, Costa Rica.