Avantor (NYSE:AVTR – Get Free Report) and Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC – Get Free Report) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Avantor and Sotera Health”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Avantor | $6.55 billion | 1.57 | -$530.20 million | $0.50 | 30.29 |
| Sotera Health | $1.23 billion | 3.68 | $77.94 million | $0.60 | 26.45 |
Sotera Health has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Avantor. Sotera Health is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Avantor, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
95.1% of Avantor shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.0% of Sotera Health shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Avantor shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.4% of Sotera Health shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Avantor and Sotera Health’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Avantor | 5.08% | 9.79% | 4.74% |
| Sotera Health | 14.11% | 38.46% | 7.66% |
Risk & Volatility
Avantor has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sotera Health has a beta of 1.94, suggesting that its stock price is 94% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Avantor and Sotera Health, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Avantor | 1 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 2.06 |
| Sotera Health | 1 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 2.64 |
Avantor currently has a consensus price target of $14.77, indicating a potential downside of 2.49%. Sotera Health has a consensus price target of $20.88, indicating a potential upside of 31.54%. Given Sotera Health’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Sotera Health is more favorable than Avantor.
Summary
Sotera Health beats Avantor on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Avantor
Avantor, Inc. engages in the provision of mission-critical products and services to customers in the biopharma, healthcare, education and government, advanced technologies, and applied materials industries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers materials and consumables, such as purity chemicals and reagents, lab products and supplies, formulated silicone materials, customized excipients, customized single-use assemblies, process chromatography resins and columns, analytical sample prep kits, education and microbiology products, clinical trial kits, peristaltic pumps, and fluid handling tips. It also provides equipment and instrumentation products, including filtration systems, virus inactivation systems, incubators, analytical instruments, evaporators, ultra-low-temperature freezers, biological safety cabinets, and critical environment supplies. In addition, the company offers services and specialty procurements comprising onsite lab and production, clinical, equipment, procurement and sourcing, and biopharmaceutical material scale-up and development services. Further, it provides scientific research support services, such as DNA extraction, bioreactor servicing, clinical and biorepository, and compound management services. The company was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania.
About Sotera Health
Sotera Health Company engages in the provision of sterilization, lab testing, and advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Sterigenics, Nordion, and Nelson Labs. It provides mission-critical end-to-end sterilization services, including gamma and electron beam irradiation, and ethylene oxide processing, as well as designs, installs, and maintains gamma irradiation systems. The company also provides microbiological and analytical chemistry testing, as well as technical assistance, regulatory consulting, and advisory services. It serves medical devices, pharmaceuticals, food safety, agricultural products, cancer treatment, and high-performance materials industries, as well as commercial, advanced, and specialty application industries. The company was formerly known as Sotera Health Topco, Inc. and changed its name to Sotera Health Company in October 2020. Sotera Health Company was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Broadview Heights, Ohio.
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