Comparing Escalon Medical (OTCMKTS:ESMC) & DENTSPLY SIRONA (NASDAQ:XRAY)

DENTSPLY SIRONA (NASDAQ:XRAY) and Escalon Medical (OTCMKTS:ESMC) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, profitability, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares DENTSPLY SIRONA and Escalon Medical”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
DENTSPLY SIRONA	$3.67 billion	0.79	-$910.00 million	($4.74)	-3.08
Escalon Medical	$11.98 million	0.19	-$130,000.00	$0.05	6.00

Escalon Medical has lower revenue, but higher earnings than DENTSPLY SIRONA. DENTSPLY SIRONA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Escalon Medical, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

DENTSPLY SIRONA has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Escalon Medical has a beta of 0.35, indicating that its share price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

95.7% of DENTSPLY SIRONA shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of DENTSPLY SIRONA shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Escalon Medical shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares DENTSPLY SIRONA and Escalon Medical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
DENTSPLY SIRONA	-25.85%	16.33%	5.60%
Escalon Medical	4.70%	45.60%	12.66%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for DENTSPLY SIRONA and Escalon Medical, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
DENTSPLY SIRONA	0	11	2	0	2.15
Escalon Medical	0	0	0	0	0.00

DENTSPLY SIRONA currently has a consensus price target of $18.64, suggesting a potential upside of 27.47%. Given DENTSPLY SIRONA’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe DENTSPLY SIRONA is more favorable than Escalon Medical.

About DENTSPLY SIRONA

DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. manufactures and sells various dental products and technologies worldwide. It operates in four segments: Connected Technology Solutions, Essential Dental Solutions, Orthodontic and Implant Solutions, and Wellspect Healthcare. The company offers dental equipment comprising imaging equipment, motorized dental handpieces, treatment centers, other instruments, amalgamators, mixing machines, and porcelain furnaces; and dental CAD/CAM technologies to support dental restorations, such as intraoral scanners, 3-D printers, mills, other software and services, and a full-chairside economical restoration of esthetic ceramic dentistry, as well as DS Core, its cloud-based platform. It also provides endodontic products consisting of motorized endodontic handpieces, files, sealers, irrigation needles, and other tools that support root canal procedures; restorative products, including dental ceramics, crowns, and veneers; and preventative products, such as curing light systems, dental diagnostic systems, and ultrasonic scalers and polishers, as well as dental anesthetics, prophylaxis paste, dental sealants, and impression materials. In addition, the company offers SureSmile and Byte aligner solutions; VPro/HyperByte, a high-frequency vibration technology device; SureSmile Simulator, which creates a 3D visualization of a patient's outcome; and Byte Plus for treatment planning. Further, it provides dental implants, digital dentures, crown and bridge porcelain products, bone regenerative and restorative solutions, treatment planning software, and educational programs; dental prosthetics; urology catheters; and other health-related consumables. The company serves professional dental and consumable medical device markets through third-party distributors. The company was formerly known as DENTSPLY International Inc. and changed its name to DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. in February 2016. DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc. was founded in 1877 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina

About Escalon Medical

Escalon Medical Corp. engages in the development, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of medical devices and pharmaceuticals in the area of ophthalmology in the United States and internationally. It offers A-Scan, which provides information about the internal structure of the eye; B-Scan, a diagnostic tool that supplies information to physicians where the media within the eye are cloudy or opaque; UBM, a high frequency/high resolution ultrasound device, which provides detailed information about the anterior segment of the eye; and Pachymeter that measures the thickness of cornea. The company also provides Ispan Intraocular Gases, such as C3F8 and SF6 that are used by vitreoretinal surgeons as a temporary tamponade in detached retina surgery; and AXIS Image management system for managing ophthalmic diagnostic images through the web browser from various devices. In addition, it markets disposable surgical packs used in vitreoretinal surgery, including packs that aid surgeons in the process of injecting and extracting silicone oil. Further, the company engages in the manufacturing and distribution of patented disposable universal gas kit, which delivers the gas from the canister to the patient. It sells its products to medical institutions through independent sales representatives, network of distributors, and internal sales employees. Escalon Medical Corp. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania.