Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) vs. Fulgent Genetics (NASDAQ:FLGT) Financial Review

Fulgent Genetics (NASDAQ:FLGT) and Azenta (NASDAQ:AZTA) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

48.1% of Fulgent Genetics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.1% of Azenta shares are owned by institutional investors. 31.8% of Fulgent Genetics shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 10.9% of Azenta shares are owned by 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Fulgent Genetics and Azenta, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fulgent Genetics	1	2	2	0	2.20
Azenta	1	3	4	0	2.38

Fulgent Genetics presently has a consensus price target of $32.00, suggesting a potential upside of 35.82%. Azenta has a consensus price target of $41.33, suggesting a potential upside of 48.25%. Given Azenta’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Azenta is more favorable than Fulgent Genetics.

Risk and Volatility

Fulgent Genetics has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Azenta has a beta of 1.35, meaning that its share price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Fulgent Genetics and Azenta”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fulgent Genetics	$283.47 million	2.57	-$42.71 million	($1.39)	-16.95
Azenta	$593.82 million	2.16	-$55.76 million	($1.35)	-20.65

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

Profitability

This table compares Fulgent Genetics and Azenta’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fulgent Genetics	-13.62%	-2.55%	-2.36%
Azenta	-10.34%	1.43%	1.19%

Summary

Azenta beats Fulgent Genetics on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fulgent Genetics

Fulgent Genetics, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides clinical diagnostic and therapeutic development solutions to physicians and patients in the United States and internationally. The company’s clinical diagnostic solutions include molecular diagnostic testing; genetic testing; anatomic pathology laboratory tests and testing services, such as gastrointestinal pathology, dermatopathology, urologic pathology, breast pathology, neuropathology, and hematopathology; oncology tests and testing services; and sequencer services related to hereditary cancer, reproductive health, and other diseases. Its therapeutic development solutions focus on developing drug candidates for treating a range of cancers using a nanoencapsulation and targeted therapy platform to enhance the therapeutic window and pharmacokinetic profile of new and existing cancer drugs. The company operates picture genetics platform, which includes gene probes, data suppression and comparison algorithms, adaptive learning software, and proprietary laboratory information management systems that helps customers to identify health markers in their personal DNA. It serves insurance, hospitals, medical institutions, other laboratories, governmental bodies, payors, municipalities and large corporations, and patients. The company was formerly known as Fulgent Diagnostics, Inc. and changed its name to Fulgent Genetics, Inc. in August 2016. Fulgent Genetics, Inc. was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in El Monte, California.

About Azenta

Azenta, Inc. provides biological and chemical compound sample exploration and management solutions for the life sciences market in North America, Africa, China, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates in two reportable segments, Life Sciences Products and Life Sciences Services. The Life Sciences Products segment offers automated cold storage solutions, consumables and instruments, controlled rate thawing devices, and temperature-controlled storage and transportation solutions. This segment also provides sample management solutions, such as consumable vials and tubes, polymerase chain reaction, plates, instruments for supporting workflows, and informatics. The Life Sciences Services segment provides genomic services, that includes gene sequencing and gene synthesis services; and sample repository solutions, such as on-site and off-site sample storage, cold chain logistics, sample transport and collection relocation, bio-processing solutions, disaster recovery and business continuity, and biospecimen procurement services, as well as project management and consulting services for genomic analysis and the management and care of biological samples used in pharmaceutical, biotech, healthcare, clinical, and academic research, and development sectors. It serves a range of life science customers, including pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, biorepositories, and research institutes. The company was formerly known as Brooks Automation, Inc. and changed its name to Azenta, Inc. in December 2021. Azenta, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts.