Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) & Lucid Diagnostics (NASDAQ:LUCD) Critical Analysis

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) and Lucid Diagnostics (NASDAQ:LUCD) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Merit Medical Systems and Lucid Diagnostics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Merit Medical Systems	$1.30 billion	4.21	$94.41 million	$1.74	54.22
Lucid Diagnostics	$3.80 million	10.81	-$52.67 million	($1.27)	-0.62

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

Volatility and Risk

Merit Medical Systems has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lucid Diagnostics has a beta of 1.47, indicating that its share price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

99.7% of Merit Medical Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.0% of Lucid Diagnostics shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.7% of Merit Medical Systems shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.8% of Lucid Diagnostics shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Merit Medical Systems and Lucid Diagnostics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Merit Medical Systems	9.02%	15.29%	8.58%
Lucid Diagnostics	-1,227.74%	N/A	-112.67%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Merit Medical Systems and Lucid Diagnostics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Merit Medical Systems	0	2	9	1	2.92
Lucid Diagnostics	0	0	4	1	3.20

Merit Medical Systems currently has a consensus target price of $101.82, indicating a potential upside of 7.92%. Lucid Diagnostics has a consensus target price of $3.94, indicating a potential upside of 402.62%. Given Lucid Diagnostics’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Lucid Diagnostics is more favorable than Merit Medical Systems.

Summary

Merit Medical Systems beats Lucid Diagnostics on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Merit Medical Systems

Merit Medical Systems, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and markets single-use medical products for interventional, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Cardiovascular and Endoscopy. The company provides micropuncture kits, angiographic needles, sheaths, guide wires, and safety products; peripheral intervention, including angiography, drainage, delivery systems, and embolotherapy products; spine products, such as vertebral augmentation, radiofrequency ablation, and bone biopsy systems; oncology products; and cardiac intervention products, such as access, angiography, electrophysiology and cardiac rhythm management, fluid management, hemodynamic monitoring, hemostasis, and intervention to treat various heart conditions. It also offers custom procedural solutions that include critical care products, disinfection protection systems, syringes, manifold kits, and trays and packs; coating services for medical tubes and wires; and sensor components for microelectromechanical systems. In addition, the company provides pulmonary products that consist of laser-cut tracheobronchial stents, over-the-wire and direct visualization delivery systems, and dilation balloons to endoscopically dilate structures; gastroenterology products, such as covered esophageal stents, syringe and gauges, and balloon dilators; and kits and accessories for endoscopy and bronchoscopy procedures. It sells its products to hospitals and alternate site-based physicians, technicians, and nurses through direct sales force, distributors, original equipment manufacturer partners, or custom procedure tray manufacturers. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in South Jordan, Utah.

About Lucid Diagnostics

Lucid Diagnostics Inc. operates as a commercial-stage medical diagnostics technology company in the United States. The company focuses on patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) who are at risk of developing esophageal precancer and cancer, primarily highly lethal esophageal adenocarcinoma. Its flagship product, the EsoGuard Esophageal DNA Test performed on samples collected with the EsoCheck Esophageal Cell collection device, a testing tool with the goal of preventing EAC deaths through early detection of esophageal precancer in at-risk GERD patients. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is based in New York, New York. Lucid Diagnostics Inc. is a subsidiary of PAVmed Inc.