Financial Review: AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) & TREES (OTCMKTS:CANN)

AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) and TREES (OTCMKTS:CANN) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

99.1% of AtriCure shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 11.3% of TREES shares are held by institutional investors. 3.5% of AtriCure shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 45.0% of TREES shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares AtriCure and TREES”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AtriCure	$465.31 million	3.52	-$44.70 million	($0.61)	-53.93
TREES	$13.66 million	0.28	-$3.48 million	($0.02)	-1.67

TREES has lower revenue, but higher earnings than AtriCure. AtriCure is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than TREES, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for AtriCure and TREES, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AtriCure	1	1	9	1	2.83
TREES	0	0	0	0	0.00

AtriCure currently has a consensus target price of $51.11, indicating a potential upside of 55.35%. Given AtriCure’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe AtriCure is more favorable than TREES.

Profitability

This table compares AtriCure and TREES’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AtriCure	-5.55%	-2.54%	-1.93%
TREES	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk and Volatility

AtriCure has a beta of 1.41, indicating that its share price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TREES has a beta of -0.59, indicating that its share price is 159% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

AtriCure beats TREES on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AtriCure

AtriCure, Inc. develops, manufactures, and sells devices for surgical ablation of cardiac tissue, exclusion of the left atrial appendage, and temporarily blocking pain by ablating peripheral nerves to medical centers in the United States, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company offers Isolator Synergy Clamps, single-use disposable radio frequency products; multifunctional pens and linear ablation devices, such as the MAX Pen device that enables surgeons to evaluate cardiac arrhythmias, perform temporary cardiac pacing, sensing, and stimulation, and ablate cardiac tissue with the same device; and the Coolrail device, which enables users to make longer linear lines of ablation. It also provides cryoICE Cryoablation System that enables the user to make linear ablations of varied lengths; EPi-Sense Systems, a single-use disposable device used for the treatment of symptomatic, drug-refractory, and long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation; cryoSPHERE probe, which provides temporary pain relief by applying cryothermic energy to targeted intercoastal peripheral nerves in the ribcage; AtriClip System, an implantable device coupled to a single-use disposable applier; and LARIAT System, a suture-based solution for soft-tissue closure. In addition, the company sells Lumitip dissectors to separate tissues to provide access to key anatomical structures that are targeted for ablation; Glidepath guides for placement of clamps; Subtle Cannula's to support access for EPi-Sense catheters; and various reusable cardiac surgery instruments. It markets and sells its products through independent distributors and direct sales personnel. The company was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Mason, Ohio.

About TREES

Trees Corporation provides products and services to the regulated cannabis industry in the United States. The company operates through Retail and Cultivation segments. It operates a licensed 17,000 square foot light deprivation greenhouse cultivation facility; and retail dispensary store in Englewood, Colorado, as well as retail stores in Portland, Oregon. The company was formerly known as General Cannabis Corp. and changed its name to Trees Corporation in June 2022. Trees Corporation was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado.