Apyx Medical (NASDAQ:APYX) vs. Nihon Kohden (OTCMKTS:NHNKY) Critical Survey

Nihon Kohden (OTCMKTS:NHNKY) and Apyx Medical (NASDAQ:APYX) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Nihon Kohden and Apyx Medical, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nihon Kohden	0	2	0	0	2.00
Apyx Medical	1	1	5	1	2.75

Apyx Medical has a consensus target price of $6.50, indicating a potential upside of 154.90%. Given Apyx Medical’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Apyx Medical is more favorable than Nihon Kohden.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Nihon Kohden and Apyx Medical”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nihon Kohden	$1.56 billion	1.13	$95.79 million	$0.55	19.09
Apyx Medical	$52.84 million	2.03	-$11.21 million	($0.20)	-12.75

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

Volatility and Risk

Nihon Kohden has a beta of 0.38, meaning that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Apyx Medical has a beta of 1.45, meaning that its share price is 45% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.1% of Nihon Kohden shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.3% of Apyx Medical shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.9% of Apyx Medical shares are owned by company 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.

Profitability

This table compares Nihon Kohden and Apyx Medical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nihon Kohden	5.90%	9.17%	6.47%
Apyx Medical	-14.78%	-76.60%	-13.91%

Summary

Apyx Medical beats Nihon Kohden on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nihon Kohden

Nihon Kohden Corporation engages in development, manufacturing, sale, maintenance, and consultation of medical electronic equipment, and related systems and products in Japan, Americas, Europe, rest of Asia, and internationally. It offers physiological measuring equipment comprising electrocardiographs, electroencephalographs, and polygraphs for Cath-labs; patient monitoring systems, such as beside and central monitors; and treatment equipment including defibrillators, automated external defibrillators, ventilators, and pacemakers. The company also provides medical support system, which includes diagnostic and clinical information system; and in-vitro diagnostic equipment comprising hematology and clinical chemistry analyzers. In addition, it operates insurance brokerage and technology licensing business. The company was incorporated in 1951 and is headquartered in Shinjuku, Japan.

About Apyx Medical

Apyx Medical Corporation, an energy technology company, engages in the design, development, and manufacture of medical devices in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Advanced Energy and Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM). It offers Helium Plasma Generator for delivery of RF energy and helium plasma to cut, coagulate, and ablate soft tissue during open and minimally invasive surgical procedures. The company's Helium Plasma Technology products are marketed and sold under the Renuvion name in the cosmetic surgery market and under the J-Plasma name in the hospital surgical market. It also develops and manufactures various hand pieces for open and laparoscopic procedures; and OEM generators, as well as related accessories. The company was formerly known as Bovie Medical Corporation and changed its name to Apyx Medical Corporation in January 2019. Apyx Medical Corporation was incorporated in 1982 and is based in Clearwater, Florida.