Head-To-Head Contrast: NeuroPace (NASDAQ:NPCE) & Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS)

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) and NeuroPace (NASDAQ:NPCE) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, profitability and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Cerus and NeuroPace, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cerus	0	1	3	0	2.75
NeuroPace	0	1	5	0	2.83

Cerus currently has a consensus price target of $3.63, suggesting a potential upside of 102.51%. NeuroPace has a consensus price target of $14.60, suggesting a potential upside of 50.52%. Given Cerus’ higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Cerus is more favorable than NeuroPace.

Risk and Volatility

Cerus has a beta of 1.2, suggesting that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NeuroPace has a beta of 1.79, suggesting that its share price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

78.4% of Cerus shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.8% of NeuroPace shares are held by institutional investors. 3.4% of Cerus shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 22.2% of NeuroPace shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cerus	-11.19%	-37.90%	-10.35%
NeuroPace	-36.74%	-205.41%	-28.29%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Cerus and NeuroPace”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cerus	$176.23 million	1.89	-$37.49 million	($0.11)	-16.27
NeuroPace	$76.45 million	3.79	-$32.96 million	($1.00)	-9.70

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

Summary

NeuroPace beats Cerus on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cerus

Cerus Corporation operates as a biomedical products company. The company focuses on developing and commercializing the INTERCEPT Blood System to enhance blood safety. Its INTERCEPT Blood System, a proprietary technology for controlling biological replication that is designed to reduce blood-borne pathogens in donated blood components intended for transfusion. The company offers INTERCEPT Blood Systems for platelets and plasma, which is designed to inactivate blood-borne pathogens in platelets and plasma donated for transfusion; INTERCEPT Blood System for red blood cells to inactivate blood-borne pathogens in red blood cells donated for transfusion; and INTERCEPT Blood System for Cryoprecipitation that uses its plasma system to produce pathogen reduced cryoprecipitated fibrinogen complex for the treatment and control of bleeding, including massive hemorrhage associated with fibrinogen deficiency, as well as pathogen reduced plasma, cryoprecipitate reduced. It sells platelet and plasma systems through its direct sales force and distributors in the United States, Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Middle East, Latin America, and internationally. Cerus Corporation was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Concord, California.

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.