Analyzing Lancer Orthodontics (OTCMKTS:LANZ) and STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA)

STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ:STAA) and Lancer Orthodontics (OTCMKTS:LANZ) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for STAAR Surgical and Lancer Orthodontics, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
STAAR Surgical	2	10	0	0	1.83
Lancer Orthodontics	0	0	0	0	0.00

STAAR Surgical currently has a consensus price target of $20.68, indicating a potential upside of 0.33%. Given STAAR Surgical’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe STAAR Surgical is more favorable than Lancer Orthodontics.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

96.7% of STAAR Surgical shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of STAAR Surgical shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 24.3% of Lancer Orthodontics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

STAAR Surgical has a beta of 1, indicating that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Lancer Orthodontics has a beta of 0.49, indicating that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares STAAR Surgical and Lancer Orthodontics”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
STAAR Surgical	$313.90 million	3.27	-$20.21 million	($1.95)	-10.57
Lancer Orthodontics	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Lancer Orthodontics has lower revenue, but higher earnings than STAAR Surgical.

Profitability

This table compares STAAR Surgical and Lancer Orthodontics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
STAAR Surgical	-41.79%	-16.06%	-12.40%
Lancer Orthodontics	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

STAAR Surgical beats Lancer Orthodontics on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About STAAR Surgical

STAAR Surgical Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells implantable lenses for the eye, and companion delivery systems to deliver the lenses into the eye. The company provides implantable Collamer lens product family (ICLs) to treat visual disorders, such as myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and presbyopia. It markets its products to health care providers, including ophthalmic surgeons, vision and surgical centers, hospitals, government facilities, and distributors, as well as products are primarily used by ophthalmologists. The company sells its products directly through its sales representatives in the United States, Japan, Germany, Spain, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Singapore, as well as through own representatives and independent distributors in China, Korea, India, France, Benelux, Italy, and internationally. STAAR Surgical Company was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in Lake Forest, California.

About Lancer Orthodontics

Lancer Orthodontics, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets orthodontic products for orthodontists and dentists worldwide. It offers aesthetic brackets, brackets and buccal tubes, bands, adhesives, wires, elastomerics, intraoral and extraoral appliances, instruments, and miscellaneous products. The company was founded in 1967 and is based in Vista, California.