Analyzing Bioventus (NASDAQ:BVS) and Lifeward (NASDAQ:LFWD)

Bioventus (NASDAQ:BVS) and Lifeward (NASDAQ:LFWD) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Bioventus and Lifeward, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Bioventus	0	1	5	0	2.83
Lifeward	1	1	2	0	2.25

Bioventus currently has a consensus target price of $16.80, suggesting a potential upside of 30.13%. Lifeward has a consensus target price of $10.00, suggesting a potential upside of 44.51%. Given Lifeward’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Lifeward is more favorable than Bioventus.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

62.9% of Bioventus shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.8% of Lifeward shares are held by institutional investors. 33.5% of Bioventus shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Lifeward shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Bioventus has a beta of 0.65, indicating that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lifeward has a beta of 0.39, indicating that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Bioventus and Lifeward”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Bioventus	$568.09 million	1.91	$22.73 million	$0.77	16.77
Lifeward	$22.03 million	0.89	-$19.91 million	($16.82)	-0.41

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

Profitability

This table compares Bioventus and Lifeward’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Bioventus	9.36%	28.08%	9.82%
Lifeward	-141.28%	-235.86%	-81.72%

Summary

Bioventus beats Lifeward on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Bioventus

Bioventus Inc. a medical device company, focuses on developing and commercializing clinically treatments that engage and enhance the body’s natural healing process in the United States and internationally. The company’s portfolio of products includes pain treatments, which comprise non-surgical joint pain injection therapies, as well as peripheral nerve stimulation products. Its surgical solutions include bone graft substitutes to fuse and grow bones, enhance results following spinal and other orthopedic surgeries; and ultrasonic medical devices for the use in precise bone sculpting, remove tumors, and tissue debridement. The company’s restorative therapies comprise an ultrasonic bone healing system for fracture care; skin allografts; and products that are used to support healing of chronic wounds, as well as advanced rehabilitation devices designed to help patients regain leg or hand function. It serves physicians spanning the orthopedic continuum, including sports medicine, total joint reconstruction, hand and upper extremities, foot and ankle, podiatric surgery, trauma, spine, and neurosurgery in the physician’s office or clinic, ambulatory surgical centers, or in the hospital setting. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina.

About Lifeward

ReWalk Robotics Ltd., a medical device company, designs, develops, and commercializes technologies that enable mobility and wellness in rehabilitation and daily life for individuals with physical and neurological conditions in the United States, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. It offers ReWalk personal exoskeleton and rehabilitation exoskeleton devices; ReStore, a soft exo-suit intended for use in the rehabilitation of individuals with lower limb disability due to stroke; AlterG Anti-Gravity System for use in physical and neurological rehabilitation and athletic training; MyoCycle devices; and ReBoot, a personal soft exo-suit for home and community use by individuals post-stroke. The company markets and sells its products directly to institutions and individuals, as well as through third-party distributors. The company was formerly known as Argo Medical Technologies Ltd. ReWalk Robotics Ltd. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Yokneam Illit, Israel.