NEXGEL (NASDAQ:NXGL) & Atrion (NASDAQ:ATRI) Critical Review

Atrion (NASDAQ:ATRI) and NEXGEL (NASDAQ:NXGL) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

66.2% of Atrion shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.2% of NEXGEL shares are held by institutional investors. 22.8% of Atrion shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 27.2% of NEXGEL shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Atrion and NEXGEL, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atrion	0	0	0	0	N/A
NEXGEL	0	0	0	0	N/A

Profitability

This table compares Atrion and NEXGEL’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atrion	10.60%	7.75%	7.12%
NEXGEL	-67.48%	-54.71%	-31.35%

Volatility and Risk

Atrion has a beta of 0.69, indicating that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NEXGEL has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Atrion and NEXGEL’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Atrion	$176.67 million	4.57	$19.41 million	$10.64	43.14
NEXGEL	$4.74 million	3.68	-$3.16 million	($0.55)	-5.09

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

Summary

Atrion beats NEXGEL on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Atrion

Atrion Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells products for fluid delivery, cardiovascular, and ophthalmic applications in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company's fluid delivery products include valves that fill, hold, and release controlled amounts of fluids or gasses for use in various intubation, intravenous, catheter, and other applications in the anesthesia and oncology fields, as well as promote infection control in hospital and home healthcare environments. Its cardiovascular products comprise Myocardial Protection System that delivers fluids and medications, and mixes critical drugs, as well as controls temperature, pressure, and other variables; cardiac surgery vacuum relief valves; silicone vessel loops for retracting and occluding vessels; and inflation devices for balloon catheter dilation, stent deployment, and fluid dispensing, as well as products for use in heart bypass surgery. The company's ophthalmic products consist of a line of balloon catheters, which are used for the treatment of nasolacrimal duct obstruction in children and adults. It manufactures products for safe needle and scalpel blade containment; inflation systems and valves used in marine and aviation safety products; components used in inflatable survival products and structures; and one-way and two-way pressure relief valves that protect sensitive electronics and other products during transport in other medical and non-medical applications. The company sells its products to physicians, hospitals, clinics, and other treatment centers; and other equipment manufacturers through direct sales force, independent sales representatives, and distributors. Atrion Corporation was founded in 1944 and is headquartered in Allen, Texas.

About NEXGEL

NEXGEL, Inc. manufactures high water content, electron beam cross-linked, and aqueous polymer hydrogels and gels. Its products are used for wound care, medical diagnostics, transdermal drug delivery, and cosmetics. The company was formerly known as AquaMed Technologies, Inc. and changed its name to NEXGEL, Inc. in November 2019. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is based in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.