Head to Head Analysis: Nuwellis (NASDAQ:NUWE) versus AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN)

Nuwellis (NASDAQ:NUWE – Get Rating) and AxoGen (NASDAQ:AXGN – Get Rating) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

Nuwellis has a beta of 0.28, suggesting that its share price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AxoGen has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

76.2% of AxoGen shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Nuwellis shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 7.5% of AxoGen shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Nuwellis and AxoGen, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nuwellis	0	0	0	0	N/A
AxoGen	0	0	4	0	3.00

Nuwellis currently has a consensus target price of $25.00, indicating a potential upside of 419.75%. AxoGen has a consensus target price of $17.00, indicating a potential upside of 106.81%. Given Nuwellis’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Nuwellis is more favorable than AxoGen.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Nuwellis and AxoGen’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nuwellis	$8.54 million	0.68	-$14.52 million	($125.00)	-0.04
AxoGen	$138.58 million	2.53	-$26.99 million	($0.68)	-12.09

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

Profitability

This table compares Nuwellis and AxoGen’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nuwellis	-170.02%	-88.36%	-63.70%
AxoGen	-20.88%	-19.05%	-9.90%

Summary

AxoGen beats Nuwellis on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nuwellis

(Get Rating)

Nuwellis, Inc. operates as a medical device company. It engages in the provision of products for the treatment of fluid overload. The firm’s products include Aquadex FlexFlow System, which provides an ultrafiltration for the removal of salt and water in patients with hypervolemia, or fluid overload. It operates through Cardiac and Coronary Disease Products segment. The company was founded by Crispin Marsh and William S. Peters in November 1999 and is headquartered in Eden Prairie, MN.

About AxoGen

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Axogen, Inc. engages in the development and market of surgical solutions for peripheral nerve regeneration and repair. It also provides products and education to improve surgical treatment algorithms for peripheral nerve damage or discontinuity. The firm’s products include avance nerve graft, axoguard nerve connector, axoguard nerve protector, avive soft tissue membrane, acroval neurosensory and motor testing system, and axotouch two-point discriminator. The company was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Alachua, FL.