Head to Head Review: AMN Healthcare Services (NYSE:AMN) versus SeaStar Medical (NASDAQ:ICU)

AMN Healthcare Services (NYSE:AMN) and SeaStar Medical (NASDAQ:ICU) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, earnings and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares AMN Healthcare Services and SeaStar Medical”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AMN Healthcare Services	$2.73 billion	0.26	-$95.70 million	($2.49)	-7.39
SeaStar Medical	$1.23 million	13.14	-$12.15 million	($8.30)	-0.49

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

Volatility and Risk

AMN Healthcare Services has a beta of 0.25, indicating that its stock price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SeaStar Medical has a beta of -1.21, indicating that its stock price is 221% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for AMN Healthcare Services and SeaStar Medical, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AMN Healthcare Services	2	3	4	0	2.22
SeaStar Medical	1	0	0	0	1.00

AMN Healthcare Services currently has a consensus price target of $22.64, indicating a potential upside of 23.13%. SeaStar Medical has a consensus price target of $6.00, indicating a potential upside of 47.78%. Given SeaStar Medical’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe SeaStar Medical is more favorable than AMN Healthcare Services.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

99.2% of AMN Healthcare Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.7% of SeaStar Medical shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of AMN Healthcare Services shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of SeaStar Medical shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares AMN Healthcare Services and SeaStar Medical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AMN Healthcare Services	-3.51%	8.05%	2.38%
SeaStar Medical	-984.60%	-188.47%	-106.42%

Summary

AMN Healthcare Services beats SeaStar Medical on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AMN Healthcare Services

AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. provides healthcare workforce solutions and staffing services to healthcare facilities in the United States. It operates through three segments: Nurse and Allied Solutions, Physician and Leadership Solutions, and Technology and Workforce Solutions. The Nurse and Allied Solutions segment offers travel nurse staffing, labor disruption staffing, local staffing, international nurse and allied permanent placement, and allied staffing solutions. The Physician and Leadership Solutions segment provides locum tenens staffing, healthcare interim leadership staffing, executive search, and physician permanent placement solutions. The Technology and Workforce Solutions segment offers language services, vendor management systems, workforce optimization, and outsourced solutions. The company also provides allied health professionals, such as physical therapists, respiratory therapists, occupational therapists, medical and radiology technologists, lab technicians, speech pathologists, rehabilitation assistants, and pharmacists. It offers its services under the brands, including AMN Healthcare, Nursefinders, HealthSource Global Staffing, O'Grady Peyton International, Connetics, Medical Search International, DRW Healthcare Staffing, and B.E. Smith. AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

About SeaStar Medical

SeaStar Medical Holding Corporation, a medical device company, develops a platform therapy to reduce the consequences of hyperinflammation on vital organs in the United States. The company offers inflammatory response to fend off infections and repair damaged tissue in the body. It is also developing products in various therapeutic areas, including pediatric and adult acute kidney injury on CRRT; cardiorenal syndrome in congestive heart failure; myocardial stunning in end stage renal disease; and hepatorenal syndrome. The company is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.