Accuray (NASDAQ:ARAY) versus Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Financial Comparison

Accuray (NASDAQ:ARAY) and Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) are both medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Accuray and Veracyte, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Accuray	1	2	0	0	1.67
Veracyte	1	3	4	1	2.56

Accuray presently has a consensus price target of $2.00, suggesting a potential upside of 497.19%. Veracyte has a consensus price target of $47.57, suggesting a potential downside of 3.39%. Given Accuray’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Accuray is more favorable than Veracyte.

Volatility & Risk

Accuray has a beta of 1.35, indicating that its stock price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Veracyte has a beta of 1.98, indicating that its stock price is 98% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Accuray and Veracyte’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Accuray	-10.76%	-79.43%	-10.38%
Veracyte	16.25%	9.07%	8.38%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Accuray and Veracyte”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Accuray	$458.51 million	0.09	-$1.59 million	($0.37)	-0.91
Veracyte	$517.15 million	7.60	$66.35 million	$1.09	45.17

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

64.1% of Accuray shares are held by institutional investors. 4.4% of Accuray shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Veracyte shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Veracyte beats Accuray on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Accuray

Accuray Incorporated designs, develops, manufactures, and sells radiosurgery and radiation therapy systems for the treatment of tumors in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the Middle East, India, Africa, Japan, and China. It offers the CyberKnife platform, a robotic stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic body radiation therapy system used for the treatment of primary and metastatic tumors outside the brain, including tumors on or near the spine and in the breast, kidney, liver, lung, pancreas, and prostate. The company also provides the TomoTherapy platform, including the Radixact System, which allows for integrated radiation treatment planning, delivery, and data management, enabling clinicians to deliver ultra-precise treatments to approximately 50 patients per day; iDMS data management system, a fully integrated treatment planning and data management systems; and Accuray precision treatment planning system, a treatment planning and data management systems. In addition, it offers post-contract customer support, installation, training, and other professional services. The company primarily markets its products directly to customers, including hospitals and stand-alone treatment facilities through its sales organization, as well as to customers through sales agents and group purchasing organizations in the United States; and to customers directly and through distributors and sales agents internationally. Accuray Incorporated was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc. engages in the research, development and commercialization of diagnostic products. The firm’s portfolio includes Afirma, Percepta, and Envisia. It intends to treat thyroid cancer, improve lung cancer screening, and clarify the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The company was founded by Bonnie H. Anderson and Y. Douglas Dolginow on August 15, 2006 and is headquartered in South San Francisco, CA.