Comparing TransMedics Group (NASDAQ:TMDX) & Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS)

Cerus (NASDAQ:CERS) and TransMedics Group (NASDAQ:TMDX) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cerus	-3.06%	-10.19%	-3.14%
TransMedics Group	22.69%	15.88%	5.95%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Cerus and TransMedics Group”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cerus	$206.13 million	2.23	-$15.63 million	($0.03)	-76.00
TransMedics Group	$605.49 million	4.51	$190.29 million	$3.89	20.31

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

Risk and Volatility

Cerus has a beta of 1.83, indicating that its stock price is 83% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TransMedics Group has a beta of 1.94, indicating that its stock price is 94% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

78.4% of Cerus shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.7% of TransMedics Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.3% of Cerus shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.9% of TransMedics Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Cerus and TransMedics Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cerus	1	1	3	0	2.40
TransMedics Group	1	6	6	0	2.38

Cerus currently has a consensus target price of $5.25, indicating a potential upside of 130.26%. TransMedics Group has a consensus target price of $121.00, indicating a potential upside of 53.16%. Given Cerus’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Cerus is more favorable than TransMedics Group.

Summary

TransMedics Group beats Cerus on 12 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 TransMedics Group

TransMedics Group, Inc., a commercial-stage medical technology company, engages in transforming organ transplant therapy for end-stage organ failure patients in the United States and internationally. The company offers Organ Care System (OCS), a portable organ perfusion, optimization, and monitoring system that utilizes its proprietary and customized technology to replicate near-physiologic conditions for donor organs outside of the human body. Its OCS includes OCS LUNG for the preservation of standard criteria donor lungs for double-lung transplantation; OCS Heart, a technology for preservation of DBD donor hearts deemed unsuitable due to limitations of cold storage and for ex vivo reanimation, functional monitoring, and beating-heart preservation of donation-after-circulatory-death hearts; and OCS Liver for the preservation of DBD and DCD of donor livers. The company also developed national OCS program, a turnkey solution for outsourced organ retrieval; and provides OCS organ management and logistics services, including aviation and ground transportation, and other coordination activity. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts.