Contrasting Apyx Medical (NASDAQ:APYX) and Valneva (NASDAQ:VALN)

Apyx Medical (NASDAQ:APYX) and Valneva (NASDAQ:VALN) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Apyx Medical and Valneva’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Apyx Medical	-16.40%	-88.47%	-14.94%
Valneva	-88.87%	-107.63%	-33.02%

Risk & Volatility

Apyx Medical has a beta of 1.35, indicating that its stock price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Valneva has a beta of 1.72, indicating that its stock price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

55.3% of Apyx Medical shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 11.4% of Valneva shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.2% of Apyx Medical shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.9% of Valneva shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Apyx Medical and Valneva”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Apyx Medical	$52.84 million	3.27	-$11.21 million	($0.22)	-18.77
Valneva	$197.56 million	2.85	-$130.33 million	($1.87)	-3.17

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Apyx Medical and Valneva, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Apyx Medical	1	1	3	1	2.67
Valneva	2	0	3	0	2.20

Apyx Medical presently has a consensus target price of $6.50, indicating a potential upside of 57.38%. Valneva has a consensus target price of $11.98, indicating a potential upside of 101.94%. Given Valneva’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Valneva is more favorable than Apyx Medical.

Summary

Apyx Medical beats Valneva on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Apyx Medical

Apyx Medical Corporation, an energy technology company, engages in the design, development, and manufacture of medical devices in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Advanced Energy and Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM). It offers Helium Plasma Generator for delivery of RF energy and helium plasma to cut, coagulate, and ablate soft tissue during open and minimally invasive surgical procedures. The company's Helium Plasma Technology products are marketed and sold under the Renuvion name in the cosmetic surgery market and under the J-Plasma name in the hospital surgical market. It also develops and manufactures various hand pieces for open and laparoscopic procedures; and OEM generators, as well as related accessories. The company was formerly known as Bovie Medical Corporation and changed its name to Apyx Medical Corporation in January 2019. Apyx Medical Corporation was incorporated in 1982 and is based in Clearwater, Florida.

About Valneva

Valneva SE, a specialty vaccine company, develops, manufactures, and commercializes prophylactic vaccines for infectious diseases with unmet needs. It offers IXIARO, an inactivated Vero cell culture-derived Japanese encephalitis vaccine indicated for active immunization against Japanese encephalitis; DUKORAL, an oral vaccine for the prevention of diarrhea caused by Vibrio cholera and/or heat-labile toxin producing enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli bacterium; IXCHIQ, a single-dose, live-attenuated vaccine for the prevention of disease caused by chikungunya virus; and VLA2001, an inactivated whole-virus COVID-19 vaccine. The company also develops VLA15, a vaccine candidate, which is in Phase III clinical trial against Borrelia, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease; VLA1553, a vaccine candidate, which is in Phase III clinical trial against the chikungunya virus; VLA1554, a vaccine candidate targeting human metapneumovirus; and VLA2112, a vaccine candidate to treat patients with epstein-barr virus. It sells its products in the United States, Canada, Germany, Austria, Nordics, the United Kingdom, France, rest of European countries, and internationally. Valneva SE has collaborations with Pfizer, Inc. to co-develop and commercialize its Lyme disease vaccine; and Instituto Butantan for the development, manufacturing, and marketing of single-shot chikungunya vaccine. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in Saint-Herblain, France.