Contrasting Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) and Edap Tms (NASDAQ:EDAP)

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS) and Edap Tms (NASDAQ:EDAP) are both medical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA and Edap Tms, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA	3	5	0	0	1.63
Edap Tms	1	2	1	0	2.00

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA currently has a consensus price target of $28.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.59%. Edap Tms has a consensus price target of $8.50, indicating a potential upside of 82.01%. Given Edap Tms’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Edap Tms is more favorable than Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA.

Volatility and Risk

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Edap Tms has a beta of -0.16, meaning that its share price is 116% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

8.4% of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.7% of Edap Tms shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Edap Tms 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.

Profitability

This table compares Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA and Edap Tms’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA	3.72%	7.42%	3.43%
Edap Tms	-30.95%	-61.60%	-26.70%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA and Edap Tms”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA	$20.63 billion	0.69	$582.08 million	$1.37	17.84
Edap Tms	$69.18 million	2.52	-$20.58 million	($0.57)	-8.19

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has higher revenue and earnings than Edap Tms. Edap Tms is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA beats Edap Tms on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA

Fresenius Medical Care AG provides dialysis and related services for individuals with renal diseases in Germany, North America, and internationally. The company offers dialysis treatment and related laboratory and diagnostic services through a network of outpatient dialysis clinics; materials, training, and patient support services comprising clinical monitoring, follow-up assistance, and arranging for delivery of the supplies to the patient's residence; and dialysis services under contract to hospitals in the United States for the hospitalized end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients and for patients suffering from acute kidney failure. It also develops, manufactures, and distributes various health care products, including polysulfone dialyzers, hemodialysis machines, peritoneal dialysis cyclers, peritoneal dialysis solutions, hemodialysis concentrates, solutions and granulates, bloodlines, renal pharmaceuticals, systems for water treatment, and acute cardiopulmonary and apheresis products. In addition, the company develops, acquires, and in-licenses renal pharmaceuticals; offers renal medications and supplies to patients at homes or to dialysis clinics; and provides vascular, cardiovascular, endovascular specialty, vascular care ambulatory surgery center, and physician nephrology and cardiology services. The company sells its products to dialysis clinics, hospitals, and specialized treatment clinics directly, as well as through local sales forces, independent distributors, dealers, and sales agents. Fresenius Medical Care AG was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Bad Homburg, Germany.

About Edap Tms

EDAP TMS SA is a holding company, which, through its subsidiary, engages in the development, production, and marketing of minimally invasive medical devices for urological diseases. It operates through the High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) and Urology Devices and Services (UDS) segments. The HIFU segment develops, manufactures, and markets devices for the minimally invasive ablation of certain types of localized tumors using HIFU technology. The UDS segment focuses on the development, marketing, manufacturing, and servicing of medical devices for the minimally invasive diagnosis or treatment of urological disorders, mainly urinary stones, and other clinical indications. The company was founded on December 3, 1979 and is headquartered in Vaulx-en-Velin, France.