Comparing West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) and Acutus Medical (NASDAQ:AFIB)

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) and Acutus Medical (NASDAQ:AFIB) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares West Pharmaceutical Services and Acutus Medical”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
West Pharmaceutical Services	$3.07 billion	7.78	$493.70 million	$7.81	43.52
Acutus Medical	$7.16 million	0.00	-$81.66 million	($0.11)	N/A

West Pharmaceutical Services has higher revenue and earnings than Acutus Medical. Acutus Medical is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than West Pharmaceutical Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares West Pharmaceutical Services and Acutus Medical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
West Pharmaceutical Services	16.98%	20.11%	14.83%
Acutus Medical	-272.74%	-311.64%	-11.57%

Volatility and Risk

West Pharmaceutical Services has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Acutus Medical has a beta of 5.73, meaning that its share price is 473% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for West Pharmaceutical Services and Acutus Medical, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
West Pharmaceutical Services	0	3	11	1	2.87
Acutus Medical	0	0	0	0	0.00

West Pharmaceutical Services presently has a consensus price target of $368.08, indicating a potential upside of 8.29%. Given West Pharmaceutical Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe West Pharmaceutical Services is more favorable than Acutus Medical.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

93.9% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.9% of Acutus Medical shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.2% of Acutus Medical shares are held by company 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

West Pharmaceutical Services beats Acutus Medical on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products. The Proprietary Products segment offers stoppers and seals for injectable packaging systems; syringe and cartridge components, including custom solutions for the needs of injectable drug applications, as well as administration systems that enhance the safe delivery of drugs through advanced reconstitution, mixing, and transfer technologies; and films, coatings, washing, and vision inspection and sterilization processes and services to enhance the quality of packaging components. This segment also provides drug containment solutions, including Crystal Zenith, a cyclic olefin polymer in the form of vials, syringes, and cartridges; and self-injection devices; and a range of integrated solutions, including analytical lab services, pre-approval primary packaging support and engineering development, regulatory expertise, and after-sales technical support. This segment serves biologic, generic, and pharmaceutical drug companies. The Contract-Manufactured Products segment is involved in the design, manufacture, and automated assembly of devices used in surgical, diagnostic, ophthalmic, injectable, and other drug delivery systems, as well as consumer products. The company serves pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and medical device companies. It sells and distributes its products through its sales force and distribution network, contract sales agents, and regional distributors. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania.

About Acutus Medical

Acutus Medical, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets various tools for catheter-based ablation procedures to treat various arrhythmias in the United States and internationally. Its product portfolio includes novel access sheaths, transseptal crossing tools, diagnostic and mapping catheters, conventional and contact ablation catheters, and mapping and imaging consoles and accessories, as well as supporting algorithms and software programs. Acutus Medical, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Carlsbad, California.