Contrasting NeuroPace (NASDAQ:NPCE) & LeMaitre Vascular (NASDAQ:LMAT)

NeuroPace (NASDAQ:NPCE) and LeMaitre Vascular (NASDAQ:LMAT) are both medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.8% of NeuroPace shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.6% of LeMaitre Vascular shares are held by institutional investors. 22.2% of NeuroPace shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.8% of LeMaitre Vascular shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares NeuroPace and LeMaitre Vascular’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NeuroPace	-41.63%	-195.26%	-29.88%
LeMaitre Vascular	18.33%	12.41%	10.78%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for NeuroPace and LeMaitre Vascular, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NeuroPace	0	1	6	0	2.86
LeMaitre Vascular	0	1	5	1	3.00

NeuroPace presently has a consensus target price of $14.00, indicating a potential upside of 103.49%. LeMaitre Vascular has a consensus target price of $94.40, indicating a potential upside of 3.90%. Given NeuroPace’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe NeuroPace is more favorable than LeMaitre Vascular.

Volatility & Risk

NeuroPace has a beta of 1.8, indicating that its stock price is 80% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LeMaitre Vascular has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares NeuroPace and LeMaitre Vascular”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NeuroPace	$71.82 million	2.76	-$32.96 million	($1.19)	-5.78
LeMaitre Vascular	$205.62 million	9.92	$30.10 million	$1.51	60.17

LeMaitre Vascular has higher revenue and earnings than NeuroPace. NeuroPace is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than LeMaitre Vascular, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

LeMaitre Vascular beats NeuroPace on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NeuroPace

NeuroPace, Inc. operates as a medical device company in the United States. The company develops RNS system, a brain-responsive neuromodulation system that delivers personalized, real-time treatment at the seizure source for treating medically refractory focal epilepsy. It also records continuous brain activity data and enables clinicians to monitor patients in person and remotely. Its RNS System includes RNS neurostimulator, cortical strip and depth leads, and Patient Remote Monitor, as well as other implantable and non-implantable accessories. The company sells its products to hospital facilities for initial RNS system implant procedures and for replacement procedures. NeuroPace, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

About LeMaitre Vascular

LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices and implants used in the field of vascular surgery worldwide. It offers human cadaver tissue cryopreservation services; angioscope, a fiberoptic catheter used for viewing the lumen of a blood vessel; embolectomy catheters to remove blood clots from arteries; thrombectomy catheters for removing thrombi in the venous system; occlusion catheters that temporarily occlude the blood flow; and perfusion catheters to perfuse the blood and other fluids into the vasculature. The company also provides artegraft biologic graft, a bovine carotid artery used for dialysis access; XenoSure biologic patches, used for closure of vessels after surgical intervention; VascuCel and CardioCel biologic patches, used in vessel repair, heart repair and reconstruction, and neonatal repairs; cardiovascular patches; carotid shunts that temporarily shunt the blood to the brain during the removal of plaque in a carotid endarterectomy surgery; biosynthetic vascular graft indicated for lower extremity bypass and dialysis access; and vascular grafts used to bypass or replace diseased arteries. In addition, it offers radiopaque tape, a medical-grade tape applied to the skin that enables surgeons and interventionalists to cross-refer between the inside and the outside of a patient’s body and allows them to locate tributaries or lesions beneath the skin. Further, the company provides valvulotomes, which cut or disrupt valves in the saphenous vein to function as an artery to carry blood past diseased arteries to the lower leg or the foot; and closure systems to attach vessels to one another with titanium clips instead of sutures. It markets its products through a direct sales force and distributors. The company was formerly known as Vascutech, Inc. and changed its name to LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. in April 2001. LeMaitre Vascular, Inc. was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts.