Head-To-Head Survey: Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) & CONMED (NYSE:CNMD)

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) and CONMED (NYSE:CNMD) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Align Technology and CONMED, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Align Technology	1	5	8	1	2.60
CONMED	0	4	1	0	2.20

Align Technology currently has a consensus price target of $215.00, indicating a potential upside of 57.05%. CONMED has a consensus price target of $59.80, indicating a potential upside of 16.99%. Given Align Technology’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Align Technology is more favorable than CONMED.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Align Technology and CONMED”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Align Technology	$4.00 billion	2.48	$421.36 million	$5.93	23.09
CONMED	$1.31 billion	1.21	$132.42 million	$3.53	14.48

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

88.4% of Align Technology shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Align Technology shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.1% of CONMED shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Align Technology has a beta of 1.61, meaning that its share price is 61% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CONMED has a beta of 1.17, meaning that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Align Technology and CONMED’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Align Technology	11.04%	13.36%	8.32%
CONMED	8.31%	14.43%	6.05%

Summary

Align Technology beats CONMED on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Align Technology

Align Technology, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets Invisalign clear aligners, and iTero intraoral scanners and services for orthodontists and general practitioner dentists in the United States, Switzerland, and internationally. The company's Clear Aligner segment offers comprehensive products, including Invisalign comprehensive package that addresses the orthodontic needs of younger patients, such as mandibular advancement, compliance indicators, and compensation for tooth eruption; and Invisalign First Phase I and Invisalign First Comprehensive Phase 2 package for younger patients generally between the ages of six and ten years, which is a mixture of primary/baby and permanent teeth. The segment also provides Invisalign moderate, lite and express packages, and Invisalign go and Invisalign Go Plus; retention products, Invisalign training, and adjusting tools used by dental professionals during the course of treatment; and Invisalign Palatal Expander, a 3D printed orthodontic device; and 3D printing solutions. Its Imaging Systems and CAD/CAM Services segment offers iTero intraoral scanning system, a single hardware platform for restorative or orthodontic procedures; restorative software for general practitioner dentists, prosthodontists, periodontists, and oral surgeons; and orthodontists software for digital records storage, orthodontic diagnosis, and fabrication of printed models and retainers. This segment also provides Invisalign outcome simulator, a chair-side and cloud-based application for the iTero scanner; Invisalign progress assessment tool; Align Oral Health Suite, a digital interface designed to enhance dental consultations; and TimeLapse technology, which allows doctors or practitioners to compare a patient's historic 3D scans to the present-day scan, as well as subscription software, disposables, rentals, leases, pay per scan, and CAD/CAM software solutions. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona.

About CONMED

CONMED Corporation, a medical technology company, develops, manufactures, and sells surgical devices and related equipment for surgical procedures worldwide. The company offers orthopedic surgery products, including BioBrace, TruShot with Y-Knot All-In-One Soft Tissue Fixation System, Y-knot All-Suture Anchors, and Agro Knotless Suture Anchors, which provide clinical solutions to orthopedic surgeons for the augmentation and repair of soft tissue injuries, as well as provides supporting products that enable surgeons to perform minimally invasive sports medicine surgeries. It markets orthopedic surgery products under the Hall, CONMED Linvatec, Concept, and Shutt brands. The company also provides battery-powered and autoclavable bone power tool systems for use in orthopedic, arthroscopic, oral/maxillofacial, podiatric, spinal, and cardiothoracic surgeries under Hall surgical brand name. In addition, it offers general surgery products, including clinical insufflation systems under AirSeal brand; smoke removal devices under Buffalo Filter brand; endomechanical products, such as tissue retrieval bags, trocars, suction irrigation devices, graspers, scissors, and dissectors used in minimally invasive surgeries; and electrosurgical solution comprising monopolar and bipolar generators, argon beam coagulation generators, handpieces, smoke management systems and other accessories. Further, the company provides endoscopic technologies, including therapeutic and diagnostic products for use in gastroenterology procedures, and products for the treatment of diseases of the dilatation, hemostasis, biliary, structure management, and infection prevention and patient monitoring, including ECG and EEG electrodes, and cardiac defibrillation pads. It markets its products directly to hospitals, surgery centers, and other healthcare institutions, as well as through medical specialty distributors. CONMED Corporation was incorporated in 1970 and is headquartered in Largo, Florida.