Critical Comparison: STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) vs. ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI)

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

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares STAAR Surgical and ICU Medical”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
STAAR Surgical	$339.59 million	3.95	-$80.45 million	N/A	N/A
ICU Medical	$2.23 billion	1.88	$730,000.00	$1.18	142.08

ICU Medical has higher revenue and earnings than STAAR Surgical.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
STAAR Surgical	0.16%	8.56%	6.60%
ICU Medical	1.39%	7.91%	4.17%

Volatility and Risk

STAAR Surgical has a beta of 1.22, indicating that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ICU Medical has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for STAAR Surgical and ICU Medical, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
STAAR Surgical	3	5	4	1	2.23
ICU Medical	0	3	4	2	2.89

STAAR Surgical presently has a consensus price target of $29.00, suggesting a potential upside of 8.53%. ICU Medical has a consensus price target of $192.80, suggesting a potential upside of 15.00%. Given ICU Medical’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe ICU Medical is more favorable than STAAR Surgical.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

96.7% of STAAR Surgical shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.1% of ICU Medical shares are owned by institutional investors. 39.9% of STAAR Surgical shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of ICU Medical shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

ICU Medical beats STAAR Surgical on 7 of the 13 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 ICU Medical

ICU Medical, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells medical devices used in infusion therapy, vascular access, and vital care applications worldwide. Its infusion therapy products include needlefree products under the MicroClave, MicroClave Clear, and NanoClave brands; Neutron catheter patency devices; ChemoClave and ChemoLock closed system transfer devices, which are used to limit the escape of hazardous drugs or vapor concentrations, block the transfer of environmental contaminants into the system, and eliminates the risk of needlestick injury; Tego needle free connectors; Deltec GRIPPER non-coring needles for portal access; and ClearGuard, SwabCap, and SwabTip disinfection caps. The company provides IV therapy and diluents, such as sodium chloride, dextrose, balanced electrolyte solutions, lactated ringer's, ringer's, mannitol, sodium chloride/dextrose, and sterile water; and irrigation solutions comprising sodium chloride and sterile water irrigation, physiologic solutions, ringer's irrigation, acetic acid irrigation, glycine irrigation, sorbitol-mannitol irrigation, flexible containers, and pour bottle options. It offers infusion pumps under the Plum 360 and Plum Duo brands; ambulatory and syringe infusion hardware products; IV mediation safety software, including ICU Medical MedNet, an enterprise-class medication management platform; LifeShield and PharmGuard medication infusion safety software; hemodynamic monitoring products; anesthesia systems and devices, breathing circuits, ventilation, respiratory, and specialty airway products; temperature management solutions; anesthesia/pain management trays and components; and professional services. The company's customers include acute care hospitals, wholesalers, ambulatory clinics, and alternate site facilities, including outpatient clinics, home health care providers, and long-term care facilities. ICU Medical, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is based in San Clemente, California.