Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) & Pulmonx (NASDAQ:LUNG) Head to Head Contrast

Pulmonx (NASDAQ:LUNG) and Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Pulmonx and Azenta”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pulmonx	$90.50 million	0.59	-$54.00 million	($1.30)	-0.98
Azenta	$593.82 million	2.06	-$55.76 million	($3.96)	-6.71

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

Profitability

This table compares Pulmonx and Azenta’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pulmonx	-60.09%	-92.94%	-39.80%
Azenta	-30.49%	1.23%	1.02%

Risk and Volatility

Pulmonx has a beta of 0.3, meaning that its share price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Azenta has a beta of 1.37, meaning that its share price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Pulmonx and Azenta, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pulmonx	1	2	4	0	2.43
Azenta	1	2	4	0	2.43

Pulmonx presently has a consensus target price of $5.58, indicating a potential upside of 339.63%. Azenta has a consensus target price of $40.40, indicating a potential upside of 51.94%. Given Pulmonx’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Pulmonx is more favorable than Azenta.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

91.0% of Pulmonx shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.1% of Azenta shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.5% of Pulmonx shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.9% of Azenta shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Azenta beats Pulmonx on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pulmonx

Pulmonx Corporation, a commercial-stage medical technology company, provides minimally invasive devices for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. The company offers Zephyr Endobronchial Valve, a solution for the treatment of patients with hyperinflation associated with severe emphysema; and Chartis Pulmonary Assessment System, a balloon catheter and console system with flow and pressure sensors that are used to assess the presence of collateral ventilation. It also offers StratX Lung Analysis Platform, a cloud-based quantitative computed tomography analysis service that offers information on emphysema destruction, fissure completeness, and lobar volume to help identify target lobes for the treatment with Zephyr Valves. The company serves emphysema patients in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company was formerly known as Pulmonx and changed its name to Pulmonx Corporation in December 2013. Pulmonx Corporation was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Redwood City, California.

About Azenta

Azenta, Inc. provides biological and chemical compound sample exploration and management solutions for the life sciences market in North America, Africa, China, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates in two reportable segments, Life Sciences Products and Life Sciences Services. The Life Sciences Products segment offers automated cold storage solutions, consumables and instruments, controlled rate thawing devices, and temperature-controlled storage and transportation solutions. This segment also provides sample management solutions, such as consumable vials and tubes, polymerase chain reaction, plates, instruments for supporting workflows, and informatics. The Life Sciences Services segment provides genomic services, that includes gene sequencing and gene synthesis services; and sample repository solutions, such as on-site and off-site sample storage, cold chain logistics, sample transport and collection relocation, bio-processing solutions, disaster recovery and business continuity, and biospecimen procurement services, as well as project management and consulting services for genomic analysis and the management and care of biological samples used in pharmaceutical, biotech, healthcare, clinical, and academic research, and development sectors. It serves a range of life science customers, including pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, biorepositories, and research institutes. The company was formerly known as Brooks Automation, Inc. and changed its name to Azenta, Inc. in December 2021. Azenta, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts.