Reviewing CVRx (NASDAQ:CVRX) and Kestra Medical Technologies (NASDAQ:KMTS)

Kestra Medical Technologies (NASDAQ:KMTS) and CVRx (NASDAQ:CVRX) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Kestra Medical Technologies and CVRx, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kestra Medical Technologies	1	2	5	0	2.50
CVRx	1	5	1	0	2.00

Kestra Medical Technologies presently has a consensus price target of $29.00, suggesting a potential downside of 1.61%. CVRx has a consensus price target of $3.30, suggesting a potential upside of 353.92%. Given CVRx’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe CVRx is more favorable than Kestra Medical Technologies.

Risk and Volatility

Kestra Medical Technologies has a beta of 0.45, suggesting that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CVRx has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

75.3% of CVRx shares are held by institutional investors. 5.3% of Kestra Medical Technologies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 16.6% of CVRx shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Kestra Medical Technologies and CVRx’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kestra Medical Technologies	-140.43%	-63.83%	-44.76%
CVRx	-84.93%	-152.35%	-50.93%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Kestra Medical Technologies and CVRx”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kestra Medical Technologies	$95.13 million	18.45	-$131.61 million	($2.67)	-11.04
CVRx	$56.65 million	0.34	-$53.31 million	($2.01)	-0.36

CVRx has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Kestra Medical Technologies. Kestra Medical Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CVRx, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

CVRx beats Kestra Medical Technologies on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kestra Medical Technologies

Kestra Medical Technologies is a medical technology company focused on wearable solutions for people at risk of sudden cardiac arrest. Its products combine cardiac monitoring, treatment technology and digital services intended to support patients and their care teams. The company’s flagship product, the ASSURE wearable cardioverter defibrillator, continuously monitors a patient’s heart rhythm and can deliver a treatment shock if it detects a life-threatening arrhythmia. The system also provides alerts and supports remote sharing of patient data with clinicians.

About CVRx

CVRx, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVRX) is a medical device company focused on developing and commercializing neuromodulation therapies for patients with cardiovascular diseases. The company’s technology is designed to activate the body’s natural nervous system pathways to help regulate cardiovascular function. CVRx’s primary product is the Barostim system, an implantable device that delivers electrical stimulation to baroreceptors located near the carotid arteries. By influencing signals between the cardiovascular system and the brain, Barostim is intended to reduce excessive sympathetic nervous system activity and improve symptoms and function in certain patients with heart failure.