Comparing UFP Technologies (NASDAQ:UFPT) & Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW)

Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) and UFP Technologies (NASDAQ:UFPT) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Edwards Lifesciences and UFP Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Edwards Lifesciences	0	6	17	0	2.74
UFP Technologies	0	2	0	0	2.00

Edwards Lifesciences presently has a consensus price target of $100.27, suggesting a potential upside of 12.31%. Given Edwards Lifesciences’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Edwards Lifesciences is more favorable than UFP Technologies.

Risk & Volatility

Edwards Lifesciences has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, UFP Technologies has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Edwards Lifesciences and UFP Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Edwards Lifesciences	15.43%	15.68%	12.05%
UFP Technologies	11.45%	18.42%	11.96%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

79.5% of Edwards Lifesciences shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.3% of UFP Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Edwards Lifesciences shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of UFP Technologies shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Edwards Lifesciences and UFP Technologies”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Edwards Lifesciences	$6.07 billion	8.47	$1.07 billion	$1.74	51.31
UFP Technologies	$602.80 million	3.59	$68.31 million	$9.28	30.11

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

Summary

Edwards Lifesciences beats UFP Technologies on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Edwards Lifesciences

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation provides products and technologies for structural heart disease and critical care monitoring in the United States, Europe, Japan, and internationally. It offers transcatheter heart valve replacement products for the minimally invasive replacement of aortic heart valves under the Edwards SAPIEN family of valves system; and transcatheter heart valve repair and replacement products to treat mitral and tricuspid valve diseases under the PASCAL PRECISION and Cardioband names. The company also provides surgical structural heart solutions, such as aortic surgical valve under the INSPIRIS name; INSPIRIS RESILLA aortic valve, which offers RESILIA tissue and VFit technology; KONECT RESILIA, a pre-assembled tissue valves conduit for complex combined procedures; and MITRIS RESILIA valve. In addition, it offers critical care solutions, including hemodynamic monitoring systems to measure a patient’s heart function and fluid status in surgical and intensive care settings under the FloTrac, Acumen IQ sensors, ClearSight, Acumen IQ cuffs, and ForeSight names; HemoSphere, a monitoring platform that displays physiological information; and Acumen Hypotension Prediction Index software that alerts clinicians in advance of a patient developing dangerously low blood pressure. The company distributes its products through a direct sales force and independent distributors. Edwards Lifesciences Corporation was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

About UFP Technologies

UFP Technologies, Inc. designs and manufactures solutions for medical devices, sterile packaging, and other highly engineered custom products. The company offers protective drapes for robotic surgery, single patient use surfaces, advanced wound care, infection prevention, disposables for surgical and endoscopic procedures, packaging for medical devices, orthopedic implants, biopharma drug manufacturing, and coils for catheters; and molded components for applications in acoustic insulation, interior trim, load floors, sunshades, SUV cargo cover handles, driveshaft damping, engine and manifold covers, quarter panels, and wheel liners. It also provides molded composites for commercial aviation and military gear for use in backpack components, knee and elbow pads, eyewear, and helmets; and reusable cases and custom for applications in military ballistics panels, virtual training systems, drones, communications equipment, and rugged portable computers. In addition, the company provides engineered products and components to customers in the automotive, aerospace and defense, and industrial markets for applications in military uniform and gear components, automotive interior trim, air filtration, and protective cases and inserts. It markets and sells its products through a direct sales force. The company was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Newburyport, Massachusetts.