Contrasting Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) & Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN)

Qiagen (NYSE:QGEN) and Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, earnings and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Qiagen and Icon’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Qiagen	19.49%	14.47%	8.34%
Icon	3.99%	8.02%	4.56%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Qiagen and Icon”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Qiagen	$2.09 billion	4.28	$424.88 million	$1.95	22.24
Icon	$8.25 billion	1.53	$229.34 million	$4.26	38.70

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Qiagen and Icon, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Qiagen	0	9	4	1	2.43
Icon	2	7	7	1	2.41

Qiagen presently has a consensus price target of $43.93, suggesting a potential upside of 1.30%. Icon has a consensus price target of $170.40, suggesting a potential upside of 3.37%. Given Icon’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Icon is more favorable than Qiagen.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

70.0% of Qiagen shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.6% of Icon shares are held by institutional investors. 9.0% of Qiagen shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 44.0% of Icon shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Qiagen has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Icon has a beta of 1.2, indicating that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Icon beats Qiagen on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Qiagen

QIAGEN NV is a holding company, which engages in the provision of Sample to Insight solutions that enable customers to gain valuable molecular insights from samples containing the building blocks of life. The company sample technologies isolate and process DNA, RNA, and proteins from blood, tissue, and other materials. The firm assay technologies make these biomolecules visible and ready for analysis. Its bioinformatics software and knowledge bases interpret data to report relevant, actionable insights. The company was founded by Detlev H. Riesner and Metin Colpan on April 29, 1996, and is headquartered in Venlo, the Netherlands.

About Icon

ICON Public Limited Company, a clinical research organization, provides outsourced development and commercialization services in Ireland, rest of Europe, the United States, and internationally. The company specializes in the strategic development, management, and analysis of programs that support various stages of the clinical development process from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies. It also offers clinical development services, including all phases of development, peri and post approval, data solutions, and site and patient access services; clinical trial management, consulting, and contract staffing services; and commercial services comprising clinical development strategy, planning and trial design, full study execution, and post-market commercialization. In addition, the company provides laboratory services, including bionanalytical, biomarker, vaccine, good manufacturing practice, and central laboratory services, as well as full-service and functional service partnerships to customers. Further, it offers adaptive trials, cardiac safety solutions, clinical and scientific operations, consulting and advisory, commercial positioning, decentralized and hybrid clinical trials, early clinical, laboratories, language services, medical imaging, real world intelligence, site and patient, and strategic solutions. The company serves pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries, as well as government and public health organizations. ICON Public Limited Company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.