Ekso Bionics (NASDAQ:EKSO) and STERIS (NYSE:STE) Financial Contrast

Ekso Bionics (NASDAQ:EKSO) and STERIS (NYSE:STE) are both medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Ekso Bionics and STERIS’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ekso Bionics	-75.66%	-86.60%	-41.70%
STERIS	11.61%	14.17%	9.25%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

6.4% of Ekso Bionics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.7% of STERIS shares are held by institutional investors. 6.0% of Ekso Bionics shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of STERIS shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Ekso Bionics has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, STERIS has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Ekso Bionics and STERIS, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ekso Bionics	1	0	2	0	2.33
STERIS	0	2	7	0	2.78

Ekso Bionics currently has a consensus target price of $562.50, suggesting a potential upside of 11,356.21%. STERIS has a consensus target price of $273.50, suggesting a potential upside of 13.76%. Given Ekso Bionics’ higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Ekso Bionics is more favorable than STERIS.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ekso Bionics and STERIS”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ekso Bionics	$17.92 million	0.72	-$11.33 million	($6.64)	-0.74
STERIS	$5.46 billion	4.34	$614.64 million	$6.53	36.82

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

Summary

STERIS beats Ekso Bionics on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ekso Bionics

Ekso Bionics Holdings, Inc. designs, develops, sells, and rents exoskeleton products in the Americas, Germany, Poland, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates in two segments, EksoHealth and EksoWorks. The EksoHealth segment designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets exoskeletons for applications in the medical markets. The EksoWorks segment designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets exoskeleton devices to allow able-bodied users to perform difficult repetitive work for extended periods. The company provides EksoNR, a wearable bionic suit and rehabilitation device that assists physical therapists and physicians to treat patients with acquired brain injury, stroke, and spinal cord injury; Ekso Indego Therapy, an adjustable and lower-limb powered exoskeleton; Ekso Indego Personal, a powered lower limb orthosis; Ekso Nomad, a power knee ankle foot orthosis; and Ekso EV, a wearable upper body exoskeleton that elevates and supports a worker's arms to assist with tasks from chest height to overhead. Ekso Bionics Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in San Rafael, California.

About STERIS

STERIS plc provides infection prevention products and services worldwide. It operates through four segments: Healthcare, Applied Sterilization Technologies, Life Sciences, and Dental. The Healthcare segment offers cleaning chemistries and sterility assurance products; automated endoscope reprocessing system and tracking products; endoscopy accessories, washers, sterilizers, and other pieces of capital equipment for the operation of a sterile processing department; and equipment used directly in the operating room, including surgical tables, lights, and connectivity solutions, as well as equipment management services. It also provides capital equipment installation, maintenance, upgradation, repair, and troubleshooting services; preventive maintenance programs and repair services; instrument and endoscope repair and maintenance services; and custom process improvement consulting and outsourced instrument sterile processing services. The Applied Sterilization Technologies segment provides contract sterilization and testing services for medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers through a network of approximately 50 contract sterilization and laboratory facilities. The Life Sciences segment designs, manufactures and sells consumable products, such as formulated cleaning chemistries, barrier, sterility assurance products, steam and vaporized hydrogen peroxide sterilizers, and washer disinfectors. This segment also offers equipment installation, maintenance, upgradation, repair, and troubleshooting services; and preventive maintenance programs and repair services. The Dental segment provides hand and electric-powered dental instruments, infection control products, conscious sedation, personal protective equipment, and water quality products for dental suite. The company serves its products and services to hospitals, other healthcare providers, and pharmaceutical manufacturers. The company was founded in 1985 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.