Reviewing TELA Bio (NASDAQ:TELA) & Pulmonx (NASDAQ:LUNG)

Pulmonx (NASDAQ:LUNG) and TELA Bio (NASDAQ:TELA) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Pulmonx and TELA Bio, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pulmonx	0	1	5	0	2.83
TELA Bio	0	0	4	0	3.00

Pulmonx presently has a consensus target price of $14.67, indicating a potential upside of 127.39%. TELA Bio has a consensus target price of $9.25, indicating a potential upside of 194.59%. Given TELA Bio’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe TELA Bio is more favorable than Pulmonx.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.0% of Pulmonx shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.3% of TELA Bio shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.7% of Pulmonx shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.0% of TELA Bio shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Pulmonx and TELA Bio”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pulmonx	$79.30 million	3.21	-$60.84 million	($1.47)	-4.39
TELA Bio	$68.65 million	1.80	-$46.66 million	($1.69)	-1.86

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

Volatility & Risk

Pulmonx has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TELA Bio has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Pulmonx and TELA Bio’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pulmonx	-72.01%	-53.88%	-33.47%
TELA Bio	-60.49%	-556.18%	-63.13%

Summary

TELA Bio beats Pulmonx on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pulmonx

Pulmonx Corporation, a commercial-stage medical technology company, provides minimally invasive devices for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. The company offers Zephyr Endobronchial Valve, a solution for the treatment of patients with hyperinflation associated with severe emphysema; and Chartis Pulmonary Assessment System, a balloon catheter and console system with flow and pressure sensors that are used to assess the presence of collateral ventilation. It also offers StratX Lung Analysis Platform, a cloud-based quantitative computed tomography analysis service that offers information on emphysema destruction, fissure completeness, and lobar volume to help identify target lobes for the treatment with Zephyr Valves. The company serves emphysema patients in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company was formerly known as Pulmonx and changed its name to Pulmonx Corporation in December 2013. Pulmonx Corporation was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Redwood City, California.

About TELA Bio

TELA Bio, Inc., a commercial-stage medical technology company, focuses on providing soft-tissue reconstruction solutions that optimize clinical outcomes by prioritizing the preservation and restoration of the patient's anatomy. The company provides a portfolio of OviTex Reinforced Tissue Matrix (OviTex) products for hernia repair and abdominal wall reconstruction; and OviTex PRS Reinforced Tissue Matrix products to address the unmet needs in plastic and reconstructive surgery, as well as OviTex for Laparoscopic and Robotic Procedures, a sterile reinforced tissue matrix derived from ovine rumen with polypropylene fiber intended to be used in laparoscopic and robotic-assisted hernia surgical repairs. It markets its products through a single direct sales force, principally in the United States. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania.