Shockwave Medical (NASDAQ:SWAV) vs. Pro-Dex (NASDAQ:PDEX) Critical Contrast

Shockwave Medical (NASDAQ:SWAV) and Pro-Dex (NASDAQ:PDEX) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Shockwave Medical and Pro-Dex’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Shockwave Medical	$730.23 million	16.90	$147.28 million	$3.87	85.27
Pro-Dex	$46.09 million	1.42	$7.07 million	$0.75	24.91

Shockwave Medical has higher revenue and earnings than Pro-Dex. Pro-Dex is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Shockwave Medical, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

95.4% of Shockwave Medical shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.3% of Pro-Dex shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.4% of Shockwave Medical shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 42.6% of Pro-Dex shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Shockwave Medical has a beta of 0.92, meaning that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pro-Dex has a beta of 0.6, meaning that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Shockwave Medical and Pro-Dex, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Shockwave Medical	0	10	1	0	2.09
Pro-Dex	0	0	0	0	N/A

Shockwave Medical presently has a consensus target price of $309.11, suggesting a potential downside of 6.33%. Given Shockwave Medical’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Shockwave Medical is more favorable than Pro-Dex.

Profitability

This table compares Shockwave Medical and Pro-Dex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Shockwave Medical	20.17%	23.97%	12.78%
Pro-Dex	5.59%	8.97%	5.40%

Summary

Shockwave Medical beats Pro-Dex on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Shockwave Medical

Shockwave Medical, Inc., a medical device company, develops and commercializes intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) technology for the treatment of calcified plaque in patients with peripheral and coronary vascular, and heart valve diseases in the United States and internationally. The company offers products for the treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD), including M5 IVL catheter and M5+ IVL catheter, which are five-emitter catheters used in IVL system in medium-diameter vessels; S4 IVL catheter, a four-emitter catheter for use in IVL system in small-diameter vessels; and L6 IVL catheter, a six-emitter catheter used for IVL System in large diameter vessels. It also provides product for the treatment of coronary artery disease, such as C2 IVL catheter and C2+IVL catheter that are two-emitter catheters for use in IVL system; and Reducer, a device to treat refractory angina. In addition, the company develops COSIRA-II trial; shockwave C2 Aero, a coronary IVL catheter; shockwave javelin coronary, a non-balloon-based catheter platform to treat of tight, difficult-to-cross coronary lesions; shockwave L6; shockwave E8 catheter, to target long peripheral artery lesions; shockwave javelin peripheral, a non-balloon-based catheter platform, to treat tight, difficult-to-cross peripheral lesions. Further, it offers shockwave carotid IVL, a purpose-built IVL System to treat calcified carotid artery lesions; and Shockwave Crescendo, a platform developed to treat calcified, stenotic heart valves. It serves interventional cardiologists, vascular surgeons, and interventional radiologists through sales representatives and managers, and distributors. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

About Pro-Dex

Pro-Dex, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and sells powered surgical instruments for medical device original equipment manufacturers worldwide. The company offers autoclavable, battery-powered and electric, and multi-function surgical drivers and shavers that are primarily used in the orthopedic, thoracic, and craniomaxillofacial markets. It also provides engineering, quality, and regulatory consulting services; and manufactures and sells rotary air motors to various industries. The company's products are used in hospitals, medical engineering labs, scientific research facilities, and high-tech manufacturing operations. Pro-Dex, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.