Reviewing Alphatec (NASDAQ:ATEC) & Sysmex (OTCMKTS:SSMXY)

Alphatec (NASDAQ:ATEC) and Sysmex (OTCMKTS:SSMXY) are both medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Volatility & Risk

Alphatec has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sysmex has a beta of 1.13, suggesting that its stock price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Alphatec and Sysmex”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alphatec	$764.16 million	1.87	-$143.36 million	($0.95)	-9.93
Sysmex	$3.34 billion	1.55	$357.79 million	$0.48	17.10

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

66.4% of Alphatec shares are held by institutional investors. 22.8% of Alphatec shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Alphatec and Sysmex, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alphatec	1	1	9	1	2.83
Sysmex	0	2	1	0	2.33

Alphatec presently has a consensus price target of $22.82, suggesting a potential upside of 141.92%. Given Alphatec’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Alphatec is more favorable than Sysmex.

Profitability

This table compares Alphatec and Sysmex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alphatec	-18.76%	N/A	-18.18%
Sysmex	8.86%	9.27%	6.63%

Summary

Sysmex beats Alphatec on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alphatec

Alphatec Holdings, Inc., a medical technology company, designs, develops, and advances technologies for the surgical treatment of spinal disorders in the United States and internationally. It manufactures and sells implants and instruments through third-party suppliers. The company offers Alpha InformatiX product platform, including EOS imaging system that provides full-body imaging; VEA alignment mobile application, which leverages EOS technology to more quickly quantify alignment parameters on a mobile device; SafeOp Neural InformatiX System that automates electromyographic and somatosensory evoked potential monitoring; and Valence, an intra-operative system that integrates navigation and robotics into spine procedures, as well as Sigma Prone TransPsoas (PTP) Access and PTP Patient Positioning Systems. It also provides split-blade retractors; Sigma-ALIF Access System, a procedure-specific access system; spinal implants and fixation systems comprising NanoTec surface modifications, Calibrate PSX, and Invictus, as well as various standalone implants for height restoration and stabilization. In addition, the company provides biologics comprising 3D ProFuse Osteoconductive Bioscaffold for ease of handling and better endplate-to-endplate contact; AlphaGRAFT Demineralized Bone Matrix (DBM) comprising demineralized human tissues; AlphaGRAFT DBM Fibers comprising demineralized fibers; AlphaGRAFT Cellular Bone Matrix (CBM), a growth factor-enriched cellular bone matrix; AlphaGRAFT CBM that is delivered in granular, fiber, or structural form; BioCORE Moldable Bioactive Graft, a synthetic mineral-collagen composite matrix that can be molded to fit the bone defect; and Amnioshield Amniotic Tissue Barrier, an allograft for spinal surgical barrier applications. The company sells its products through a network of independent sales agents and direct sales representatives. Alphatec Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Carlsbad, California.

About Sysmex

Sysmex Corporation engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of diagnostic instruments, reagents, and related software in Japan. It offers three-part and five-part white blood cell differentiation instruments for use in hematology; and transport systems for high-volume testing in labs. The company also provides automated urine particle analyzers; automated blood coagulation analyzers; automated immunochemistry systems, which perform assays on minute sample quantities, as well as reagents to test for infectious disease and tumor markers; and flow cytometers to perform analysis in diagnosing leukemia, malignant lymphoma, and HIV/AIDS. In addition, it offers cancer lymph node metastasis testing systems to detect information to help in diagnosing lymph node metastasis; and lab assay services. Further, the company is involved in the development and sale of software for diagnostic information systems; provision of facility management, office, welfare, and genetic analysis services; development, operation, and maintenance of IT solutions, platforms, and applications related to digital medicine; marketing, development, design, manufacture, sale, and after-sales service related to medical robots; and distribution and after sales support of medical devices and reagents for biotechnology, medical technology, and molecular cell analysis. Additionally, it researches, develops, manufactures, and sells regenerative medicine products; develops, manufactures, and sells biodevices; develops, maintains, and sells computer software; and offers blood DNA testing service. The company serves national and other public hospitals, private hospitals, universities, research institutes, other medical institutions, etc. It also exports its products to approximately 190 countries. The company was formerly known as TOA Medical Electronics Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Sysmex Corporation in October 1998. Sysmex Corporation was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Kobe, Japan.