Financial Contrast: InnovAge (NASDAQ:INNV) and Avantor (NYSE:AVTR)

Avantor (NYSE:AVTR) and InnovAge (NASDAQ:INNV) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

95.1% of Avantor shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.3% of InnovAge shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of Avantor shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of InnovAge shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Avantor and InnovAge’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Avantor	-1.25%	10.91%	5.34%
InnovAge	-1.96%	-7.02%	-3.31%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Avantor and InnovAge, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Avantor	0	11	4	0	2.27
InnovAge	2	0	0	0	1.00

Avantor presently has a consensus price target of $14.42, indicating a potential upside of 28.74%. InnovAge has a consensus price target of $5.00, indicating a potential downside of 11.03%. Given Avantor’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Avantor is more favorable than InnovAge.

Risk and Volatility

Avantor has a beta of 1, suggesting that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, InnovAge has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Avantor	$6.58 billion	1.16	$711.50 million	($0.13)	-86.18
InnovAge	$853.70 million	0.89	-$30.31 million	($0.13)	-43.23

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

Summary

Avantor beats InnovAge on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Avantor

Avantor, Inc. engages in the provision of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education and government, advanced technologies, and applied materials industries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers materials and consumables, such as purity chemicals and reagents, lab products and supplies, formulated silicone materials, customized excipients, customized single-use assemblies, process chromatography resins and columns, analytical sample prep kits, education and microbiology products, clinical trial kits, peristaltic pumps, and fluid handling tips. It also provides equipment and instrumentation products, including filtration systems, virus inactivation systems, incubators, analytical instruments, evaporators, ultra-low-temperature freezers, biological safety cabinets, and critical environment supplies. In addition, the company offers services and specialty procurements comprising onsite lab and production, clinical, equipment, procurement and sourcing, and biopharmaceutical material scale-up and development services. Further, it provides scientific research support services, such as DNA extraction, bioreactor servicing, clinical and biorepository, and compound management services. The company was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania.

About InnovAge

InnovAge Holding Corp. manages and provides a range of medical and ancillary services for seniors in need of care and support to live independently in its homes and communities. The company manages its business through Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) approach. It also offers in-home care services consisting of skilled, unskilled, and personal care; in-center services, such as primary care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, dental services, mental health and psychiatric services, meals, and activities; transportation to the PACE center and third-party medical appointments; and care management. The company serves participants in the United States; and operates PACE centers in Colorado, California, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Virginia. The company was formerly known as TCO Group Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to InnovAge Holding Corp. in January 2021. InnovAge Holding Corp. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.