Head to Head Contrast: Epigenomics (OTCMKTS:EPGNY) & ICON Public (NASDAQ:ICLR)

ICON Public (NASDAQ:ICLR) and Epigenomics (OTCMKTS:EPGNY) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.6% of ICON Public shares are owned by institutional investors. 44.0% of ICON Public shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for ICON Public and Epigenomics, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ICON Public	0	0	11	1	3.08
Epigenomics	0	0	0	0	N/A

ICON Public currently has a consensus price target of $351.60, indicating a potential upside of 18.68%. Given ICON Public’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe ICON Public is more favorable than Epigenomics.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares ICON Public and Epigenomics”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ICON Public	$8.33 billion	2.93	$612.34 million	$8.22	36.01
Epigenomics	N/A	N/A	N/A	($3.05)	-0.78

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

Profitability

This table compares ICON Public and Epigenomics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ICON Public	8.57%	12.06%	6.59%
Epigenomics	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

ICON Public beats Epigenomics on 11 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ICON Public

ICON Public Limited Company, a clinical research organization, provides outsourced development and commercialization services in Ireland, rest of Europe, the United States, and internationally. The company specializes in the strategic development, management, and analysis of programs that support various stages of the clinical development process from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies. It also offers clinical development services, including all phases of development, peri and post approval, data solutions, and site and patient access services; clinical trial management, consulting, and contract staffing services; and commercial services comprising clinical development strategy, planning and trial design, full study execution, and post-market commercialization. In addition, the company provides laboratory services, including bionanalytical, biomarker, vaccine, good manufacturing practice, and central laboratory services, as well as full-service and functional service partnerships to customers. Further, it offers adaptive trials, cardiac safety solutions, clinical and scientific operations, consulting and advisory, commercial positioning, decentralized and hybrid clinical trials, early clinical, laboratories, language services, medical imaging, real world intelligence, site and patient, and strategic solutions. The company serves pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries, as well as government and public health organizations. ICON Public Limited Company was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

About Epigenomics

Epigenomics AG, a molecular diagnostics company, focuses on liquid biopsy for the early detection of cancer. Its lead product is Epi proColon, a blood-based test for the early detection of colorectal cancer in the United States, Europe, and China. The company's products also include hepatocellular carcinoma blood test; Epi proColon, a liquid biopsy test for detection of colorectal cancer; and Epi BiSKit, a pre-analytical tool, which provides a set of reagents for the preparation of bisulfite-converted DNA. Its research and development activities identify suitable biomarkers in human tissue and developing and patenting the corresponding in vitro diagnostic blood tests. Epigenomics AG was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Berlin, Germany.