Head to Head Review: IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) versus electroCore (NASDAQ:ECOR)

electroCore (NASDAQ:ECOR) and IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares electroCore and IDEXX Laboratories’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
electroCore	-39.96%	N/A	-81.35%
IDEXX Laboratories	25.03%	71.96%	33.60%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

26.7% of electroCore shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.8% of IDEXX Laboratories shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.8% of electroCore shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of IDEXX Laboratories shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

electroCore has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, IDEXX Laboratories has a beta of 1.55, suggesting that its stock price is 55% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares electroCore and IDEXX Laboratories”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
electroCore	$32.03 million	2.12	-$13.97 million	($1.66)	-4.53
IDEXX Laboratories	$4.30 billion	10.09	$1.06 billion	$14.22	38.76

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for electroCore and IDEXX Laboratories, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
electroCore	1	1	1	0	2.00
IDEXX Laboratories	0	6	8	0	2.57

electroCore presently has a consensus price target of $18.00, indicating a potential upside of 139.36%. IDEXX Laboratories has a consensus price target of $721.67, indicating a potential upside of 30.92%. Given electroCore’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe electroCore is more favorable than IDEXX Laboratories.

Summary

IDEXX Laboratories beats electroCore on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About electroCore

electroCore, Inc., a commercial stage bioelectronic medicine and wellness company, provides non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation technology platform in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company is developing gammaCore, a prescription only handheld device intended for regular or intermittent use for the acute treatment of pain associated with migraine and episodic cluster headache, as well as for the treatment of hemicrania continua and paroxysmal hemicrania. It also develops Truvaga for the support of general health and wellbeing; and TAC-STIM for human performance. In addition, the company offers gammacore Sapphire, a portable, reusable, rechargeable, and reloadable prescription medical device for various primary headache conditions. electroCore, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Rockaway, New Jersey.

About IDEXX Laboratories

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. develops, manufactures, and distributes products primarily for the companion animal veterinary, livestock and poultry, dairy, and water testing markets in Africa, the Asia Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Companion Animal Group; Water Quality Products; and Livestock, Poultry and Dairy. It also provides point-of-care veterinary diagnostic products, including instruments, consumables, and rapid assay test kits; veterinary reference laboratory diagnostic and consulting services; practice management and diagnostic imaging systems and services for veterinarians; and health monitoring, biological materials testing, and laboratory diagnostic instruments, and services for biomedical research community. In addition, the company offers diagnostic and health-monitoring products for livestock, poultry, and dairy; products that test water for various microbiological contaminants; point-of-care electrolytes and blood gas analyzers; in-clinic chemistry, blood and urine chemistry, hematology, immunoassay, urinalysis, and coagulation analyzers; and SNAP rapid assays test kits. Further, it provides Colilert, Colilert-18, and Colisure tests, which detect the presence of total coliforms and E. coli in water; Enterolert, Pseudalert, Filta-Max and Filta-Max xpress, Legiolert, and Quanti-Tray products; and veterinary software and services for independent veterinary clinics and corporate groups. Additionally, the company offers human medical point-of-care products and laboratory diagnostics services. The company markets its products through marketing, customer service, sales, and technical service groups, as well as through independent distributors and other resellers. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Westbrook, Maine.