Critical Comparison: Veru (NASDAQ:VERU) and QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL)

Veru (NASDAQ:VERU) and QuidelOrtho (NASDAQ:QDEL) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Veru and QuidelOrtho’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Veru	N/A	-54.72%	-39.09%
QuidelOrtho	-45.57%	4.25%	1.56%

Risk and Volatility

Veru has a beta of -1.19, suggesting that its share price is 219% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, QuidelOrtho has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

47.2% of Veru shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.0% of QuidelOrtho shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.2% of Veru shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of QuidelOrtho shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Veru and QuidelOrtho, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Veru	1	0	3	0	2.50
QuidelOrtho	2	4	0	0	1.67

Veru presently has a consensus target price of $23.00, indicating a potential upside of 866.39%. QuidelOrtho has a consensus target price of $13.62, indicating a potential downside of 21.61%. Given Veru’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Veru is more favorable than QuidelOrtho.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Veru and QuidelOrtho”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Veru	N/A	N/A	-$22.73 million	($0.89)	-2.67
QuidelOrtho	$2.73 billion	0.43	-$1.13 billion	($17.82)	-0.98

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

Summary

Veru beats QuidelOrtho on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Veru

Veru Inc., a late clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing medicines for treatment of metabolic diseases, oncology, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Its marketed products comprise FC2 female condom for the dual protection against unplanned pregnancy and the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. The company’s development program includes enobosarm, a selective androgen receptor modulator for treatment of augment fat loss and to prevent muscle loss in sarcopenic obese and overweight elderly patients; Enobosarm, a selective androgen receptor modulator for the treatment of AR+ ER+ HER2- metastatic breast cancer; and sabizabulin, a microtubule disruptor for the treatment of hospitalized patients with viral lung infection on oxygen support who are at high risk for viral induced ARDS and death. The company was formerly known as The Female Health Company and changed its name to Veru Inc. in July 2017. Veru Inc. was incorporated in 1971 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.

About QuidelOrtho

QuidelOrtho Corporation provides diagnostic testing solutions. The company operates through Labs, Transfusion Medicine, Point-of-Care, and Molecular Diagnostics business units. The Labs business unit provides clinical chemistry laboratory instruments and tests that measure target chemicals in bodily fluids for the evaluation of health and the clinical management of patients; immunoassay laboratory instruments and tests, which measure proteins as they act as antigens in the spread of disease, antibodies in the immune response spurred by disease, or markers of proper organ function and health; testing products to detect and monitor disease progression across a spectrum of therapeutic areas; and specialized diagnostic solutions. The Transfusion Medicine business unit offers immunohematology instruments and tests used for blood typing to ensure patient-donor compatibility in blood transfusions; and donor screening instruments and tests used for blood and plasma screening for infectious diseases. The Point-of-Care business unit provides instruments and tests to provide rapid results across a continuum of point-of-care settings. The Molecular Diagnostics business unit offers polymerase chain reaction thermocyclers; amplification systems; and sample-to-result molecular instruments and tests for syndromic infectious disease diagnostics. The company sells its products directly to end users through a direct sales force; and through a network of distributors for professional use in physician offices, hospitals, clinical laboratories, reference laboratories, urgent care clinics, universities, retail clinics, pharmacies, wellness screening centers, blood banks, and donor centers, as well as for individual, non-professional, and over-the-counter use. It operates in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China, and internationally. The company was incorporated in 1979 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.