Financial Review: Minerva Surgical (NASDAQ:UTRS) versus Paragon 28 (NYSE:FNA)

Paragon 28 (NYSE:FNA) and Minerva Surgical (NASDAQ:UTRS) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, dividends, earnings and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Paragon 28 and Minerva Surgical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Paragon 28	-25.31%	-37.90%	-18.22%
Minerva Surgical	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Paragon 28 and Minerva Surgical, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Paragon 28	0	0	4	1	3.20
Minerva Surgical	0	0	0	0	0.00

Paragon 28 presently has a consensus target price of $15.60, suggesting a potential upside of 50.65%. Given Paragon 28’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Paragon 28 is more favorable than Minerva Surgical.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

63.6% of Paragon 28 shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.3% of Paragon 28 shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.5% of Minerva Surgical shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Paragon 28 has a beta of 1.52, suggesting that its share price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Minerva Surgical has a beta of 3.96, suggesting that its share price is 296% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Paragon 28 and Minerva Surgical”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Paragon 28	$245.00 million	3.54	-$57.53 million	($0.74)	-13.99
Minerva Surgical	$51.69 million	0.00	-$34.11 million	($8.21)	N/A

Minerva Surgical has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Paragon 28. Paragon 28 is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Minerva Surgical, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Paragon 28 beats Minerva Surgical on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Paragon 28

Paragon 28, Inc. develops, distributes, and sells foot and ankle surgical systems in the United States and internationally. It offers plating systems, including gorilla plating systems, such as lisfranc, lapidus, lateral column, calcaneus slide, and naviculocuneiform (NC) fusion plating systems; baby gorilla plate-specific screws, navicular fracture plates, and 5th metatarsal hook plates; and silverback plating systems. The company also provides precision guide technology for various procedures consisting of fusion, a procedure to address bunion deformities that fuses two bones on the big toe; first tarsometatarsal arthrodesis; and metatarsal osteotomy for bunion correction, medial column beaming for charcot foot reconstruction, ankle fusion plating, and NC joint arthrodesis. In addition, it offers monster, mini monster, and joust beaming screw systems for use in bone reconstruction, osteotomy, arthrodesis, joint fusion, ligament fixation, fracture repair, and fracture fixation; APEX 3D total ankle replacement systems; and total talus spacers to replace the talus and bone in the ankle that connects the leg and foot. Further, the company provides forefoot or hallux valgus correction systems, including phantom intramedullary nail systems for the treatment of severe hallux valgus; and various orthobiologics comprising bone wedges, grafts, demineralized bone matrices, bone void fillers, synthetic materials, amniotic products, and a biocompatible collagen matrix, as well as PRESERVE bone graft systems for homologous application. Additionally, it offers soft tissue fixation systems, titanium sprayed polyetheretherketone implants, nitinol staple systems, stabilization systems, and curved instruments. The company serves hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers through a network of sales representatives and stocking distributors. Paragon 28, Inc. was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado.

About Minerva Surgical

Minerva Surgical, Inc., a commercial-stage medical technology company, develops, manufactures, and commercializes minimally invasive solutions to meet the uterine healthcare needs of women in the United States. The company provides Minerva ES Endometrial Ablation System and Genesys HTA Endometrial Ablation System, which are endometrial ablation devices; Symphion Tissue Removal System, a minimally invasive uterine tissue removal system to combine bladeless tissue resection and coagulation, continuous visualization, and intrauterine pressure monitoring; and Resectr Tissue Resection Device, a handheld surgical instrument to enable the hysteroscopic removal and diagnosis of endometrial polyps. Its devices are utilized by obstetrician-gynecologists in various medical treatment settings, including hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, and physician offices. The company was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.