West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) and Apyx Medical (NASDAQ:APYX) Critical Contrast

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) and Apyx Medical (NASDAQ:APYX) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for West Pharmaceutical Services and Apyx Medical, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
West Pharmaceutical Services	0	2	3	0	2.60
Apyx Medical	0	1	3	0	2.75

West Pharmaceutical Services currently has a consensus target price of $361.00, suggesting a potential downside of 11.45%. Apyx Medical has a consensus target price of $7.88, suggesting a potential upside of 75.00%. Given Apyx Medical’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Apyx Medical is more favorable than West Pharmaceutical Services.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

91.2% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.6% of Apyx Medical shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of West Pharmaceutical Services shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 13.1% of Apyx Medical shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

West Pharmaceutical Services has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Apyx Medical has a beta of 1.2, meaning that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares West Pharmaceutical Services and Apyx Medical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
West Pharmaceutical Services	18.10%	22.36%	16.67%
Apyx Medical	-34.34%	-49.64%	-33.56%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares West Pharmaceutical Services and Apyx Medical’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
West Pharmaceutical Services	$2.87 billion	10.51	$585.90 million	$6.86	59.43
Apyx Medical	$47.44 million	3.29	-$23.18 million	($0.47)	-9.57

West Pharmaceutical Services has higher revenue and earnings than Apyx Medical. Apyx Medical is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than West Pharmaceutical Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

West Pharmaceutical Services beats Apyx Medical on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About West Pharmaceutical Services

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells containment and delivery systems for injectable drugs and healthcare products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Proprietary Products and Contract-Manufactured Products. The Proprietary Products segment offers stoppers and seals for injectable packaging systems; syringe and cartridge components, including custom solutions for the needs of injectable drug applications, as well as administration systems that enhance the safe delivery of drugs through advanced reconstitution, mixing, and transfer technologies; and films, coatings, washing, and vision inspection and sterilization processes and services to enhance the quality of packaging components. It also provides drug containment solutions, including Crystal Zenith, a cyclic olefin polymer in the form of vials, syringes, and cartridges; and self-injection devices, as well as a range of integrated solutions, including analytical lab services, pre-approval primary packaging support and engineering development, regulatory expertise, and after-sales technical support. This segment serves biologic, generic, and pharmaceutical drug companies. The Contract-Manufactured Products segment is involved in the design, manufacture, and automated assembly of devices used in surgical, diagnostic, ophthalmic, injectable, and other drug delivery systems, as well as consumer products. The company serves pharmaceutical, diagnostic, and medical device companies. It distributes its products through its sales force and distribution network, as well as contract sales agents and regional distributors. The company was incorporated in 1923 and is headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania.

About Apyx Medical

Apyx Medical Corporation, an energy technology company, develops, manufactures, and sells medical devices in the cosmetic and surgical markets worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Advanced Energy and Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM). It offers Helium Plasma Generator for delivery of RF energy and helium plasma to cut, coagulate, and ablate soft tissue during open and laparoscopic surgical procedures. The company's Helium Plasma Technology products are marketed and sold as Renuvion in the cosmetic surgery market and J-Plasma in the hospital surgical market. It also offers hand pieces for open and laparoscopic procedures, and OEM generators and accessories. The company was formerly known as Bovie Medical Corporation and changed its name to Apyx Medical Corporation in January 2019. Apyx Medical Corporation was incorporated in 1982 and is based in Clearwater, Florida.