Stryker (NYSE:SYK) vs. Valeritas (OTCMKTS:VLRXQ) Critical Review

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) and Valeritas (OTCMKTS:VLRXQ) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Stryker and Valeritas’ revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Stryker	$20.50 billion	6.27	$3.17 billion	$8.25	40.91
Valeritas	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Stryker has higher revenue and earnings than Valeritas.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

77.1% of Stryker shares are held by institutional investors. 5.5% of Stryker shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Valeritas shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Stryker and Valeritas, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stryker	0	3	12	0	2.80
Valeritas	0	0	0	0	N/A

Stryker presently has a consensus target price of $339.22, suggesting a potential upside of 0.50%. Given Stryker’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Stryker is more favorable than Valeritas.

Profitability

This table compares Stryker and Valeritas’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stryker	15.44%	22.99%	10.69%
Valeritas	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Stryker beats Valeritas on 8 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Stryker

Stryker Corporation operates as a medical technology company. The company operates through two segments, MedSurg and Neurotechnology, and Orthopaedics and Spine. The Orthopaedics and Spine segment provides implants for use in total joint replacements, such as hip, knee and shoulder, and trauma and extremities surgeries. This segment also offers spinal implant products comprising cervical and thoracolumbar systems that include fixation, minimally invasive and interbody systems used in spinal injury, complex spine and degenerative therapies. The MedSurg and Neurotechnology segment offers surgical equipment, and surgical navigation systems, endoscopic and communications systems, patient handling, emergency medical equipment and intensive care disposable products, reprocessed and remanufactured medical devices, clinical communication and workflow solutions, and other medical device products that are used in various medical specialties, as well as patient and caregiver safety technologies. This segment also provides neurosurgical, neurovascular and craniomaxillofacial implant products, which include products used for minimally invasive endovascular procedures; products for brain and open skull based surgical procedures; orthobiologic and biosurgery products, such as synthetic bone grafts and vertebral augmentation products; minimally invasive products for the treatment of acute ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke; and craniomaxillofacial implant products, including cranial, maxillofacial, and chest wall devices, as well as dural substitutes and sealants. The company sells its products to doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities through company-owned subsidiaries and branches, as well as third-party dealers and distributors in approximately 75 countries. Stryker Corporation was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in Portage, Michigan.

About Valeritas

Valeritas Holdings, Inc., a commercial-stage medical technology company, focuses on the development and commercialization of technologies to treat patients with Type 2 diabetes in the United States. The company offers V-Go, a wearable insulin delivery device for basal-bolus therapy. It also develops V-Go Prefill that is in the design-development stage for eliminating the device-filling process and the need for EZ fill refrigeration for patients with Type 2 diabetes; and V-Go SIM for real-time tracking information of basal and bolus dosing utilization. The company sells V-Go to third-party wholesalers and medical supply distributors. Valeritas Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Bridgewater, New Jersey.