Critical Analysis: Microbot Medical (NASDAQ:MBOT) & Motus GI (NASDAQ:MOTS)

Microbot Medical (NASDAQ:MBOT) and Motus GI (NASDAQ:MOTS) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Microbot Medical and Motus GI’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Microbot Medical	N/A	-218.30%	-158.17%
Motus GI	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility and Risk

Microbot Medical has a beta of 1.4, suggesting that its share price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Motus GI has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Microbot Medical and Motus GI”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Microbot Medical	N/A	N/A	-$10.74 million	($0.74)	-3.34
Motus GI	$319,000.00	0.00	-$12.87 million	($15.64)	N/A

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Microbot Medical and Motus GI, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Microbot Medical	0	0	1	0	3.00
Motus GI	0	0	0	0	0.00

Microbot Medical presently has a consensus target price of $9.00, suggesting a potential upside of 264.37%. Given Microbot Medical’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Microbot Medical is more favorable than Motus GI.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

16.3% of Microbot Medical shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 20.1% of Motus GI shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Microbot Medical shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Motus GI shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Microbot Medical beats Motus GI on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Microbot Medical

Microbot Medical Inc., a pre-clinical medical device company, engages in the research, design, and development of robotic endoluminal surgery devices targeting the minimally invasive surgery space. The company offers LIBERTY, an endovascular robotic surgical system which allows physicians to conduct a catheter-based procedure from outside the catheterization laboratory, and avoid radiation exposure, physical strain, and the risk of cross contamination for use in cardiovascular, peripheral, and neurovascular spaces. It also provides NovaCross, an intellectual property and technology in the field of intraluminal revascularization devices with anchoring mechanism and integrated microcatheter. The company has a strategic collaboration agreement with Stryker Corporation for technology co-development. Microbot Medical Inc. was founded in 2010 and is based in Braintree, Massachusetts.

About Motus GI

Motus GI Holdings, Inc. operates as a medical technology company in the United States. It develops Pure-Vu system, a medical device to facilitate the cleansing of a poorly prepared gastrointestinal tract during the colonoscopy and facilitates upper gastrointestinal endoscopy procedures. The company was formerly known as Eight-Ten Merger Corp. and changed its name to Motus GI Holdings, Inc. in November 2016. The company was founded in 2008 and is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.