Critical Review: Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) vs. Zicix (OTCMKTS:ZICXD)

Zicix (OTCMKTS:ZICXD) and Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) are both medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Zicix and Sotera Health”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zicix	N/A	N/A	N/A	($100.14)	-0.01
Sotera Health	$1.16 billion	3.38	$77.94 million	$0.27	51.26

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

Volatility & Risk

Zicix has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sotera Health has a beta of 1.84, meaning that its stock price is 84% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Zicix and Sotera Health, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zicix	0	0	0	0	0.00
Sotera Health	0	3	8	0	2.73

Sotera Health has a consensus price target of $20.43, suggesting a potential upside of 47.61%. Given Sotera Health’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Sotera Health is more favorable than Zicix.

Profitability

This table compares Zicix and Sotera Health’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zicix	N/A	N/A	N/A
Sotera Health	6.70%	42.38%	6.91%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

91.0% of Sotera Health shares are owned by institutional investors. 55.1% of Sotera Health shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Sotera Health beats Zicix on 12 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Zicix

Zicix Corporation, through its subsidiary, Texas Mobile Health, Inc., provides diagnostic medical imaging services in Houston, Texas. It offers cardiac diagnostic services, including echocardiogram, stress testing, carotid ultrasound, and halter and event monitoring services; medical services, such as general medical care, medical care for home health patients, general and immigration physicals, weight reduction, cold laser pain relief treatment, physical therapy, and anti-aging treatment; and MRI, CT, and X-Ray services. The company was formerly known as Bederra Corporation and changed its name to Zicix Corporation on February 8, 2011. Zicix Corporation was founded in 1979 and is based in Houston, Texas.

About Sotera Health

Sotera Health Company engages in the provision of sterilization, lab testing, and advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Sterigenics, Nordion, and Nelson Labs. It provides mission-critical end-to-end sterilization services, including gamma and electron beam irradiation, and ethylene oxide processing, as well as designs, installs, and maintains gamma irradiation systems. The company also provides microbiological and analytical chemistry testing, as well as technical assistance, regulatory consulting, and advisory services. It serves medical devices, pharmaceuticals, food safety, agricultural products, cancer treatment, and high-performance materials industries, as well as commercial, advanced, and specialty application industries. The company was formerly known as Sotera Health Topco, Inc. and changed its name to Sotera Health Company in October 2020. Sotera Health Company was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Broadview Heights, Ohio.