Analyzing AtriCure (NASDAQ:ATRC) and SeaStar Medical (NASDAQ:ICU)

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

1.7% of SeaStar Medical shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.1% of AtriCure shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of SeaStar Medical shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of AtriCure 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.

Volatility & Risk

SeaStar Medical has a beta of -1.05, meaning that its share price is 205% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AtriCure has a beta of 1.42, meaning that its share price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares SeaStar Medical and AtriCure”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SeaStar Medical	$68,000.00	137.83	-$26.23 million	($11.63)	-0.18
AtriCure	$447.57 million	3.49	-$30.44 million	($0.83)	-38.59

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SeaStar Medical	N/A	N/A	-627.49%
AtriCure	-8.70%	-8.12%	-6.21%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for SeaStar Medical and AtriCure, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SeaStar Medical	0	0	0	0	0.00
AtriCure	0	0	8	0	3.00

AtriCure has a consensus target price of $42.00, indicating a potential upside of 31.13%. Given AtriCure’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe AtriCure is more favorable than SeaStar Medical.

Summary

AtriCure beats SeaStar Medical on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

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.