Financial Contrast: Minerva Surgical (NASDAQ:UTRS) versus NeuroPace (NASDAQ:NPCE)

Minerva Surgical (NASDAQ:UTRS) and NeuroPace (NASDAQ:NPCE) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Minerva Surgical and NeuroPace, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Minerva Surgical	0	0	0	0	0.00
NeuroPace	0	1	5	0	2.83

NeuroPace has a consensus price target of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 29.65%. Given NeuroPace’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe NeuroPace is more favorable than Minerva Surgical.

Profitability

This table compares Minerva Surgical and NeuroPace’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Minerva Surgical	N/A	N/A	N/A
NeuroPace	-36.74%	-205.41%	-28.29%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

78.8% of NeuroPace shares are held by institutional investors. 8.5% of Minerva Surgical shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 22.2% of NeuroPace shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Minerva Surgical and NeuroPace”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Minerva Surgical	$51.69 million	0.00	-$34.11 million	($8.21)	N/A
NeuroPace	$76.45 million	4.52	-$32.96 million	($1.00)	-11.57

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

Risk and Volatility

Minerva Surgical has a beta of 3.96, meaning that its share price is 296% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NeuroPace has a beta of 2.05, meaning that its share price is 105% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

NeuroPace beats Minerva Surgical on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Minerva Surgical

Minerva Surgical, Inc., a commercial-stage medical technology company, develops, manufactures, and commercializes minimally invasive solutions to meet the uterine healthcare needs of women in the United States. The company provides Minerva ES Endometrial Ablation System and Genesys HTA Endometrial Ablation System, which are endometrial ablation devices; Symphion Tissue Removal System, a minimally invasive uterine tissue removal system to combine bladeless tissue resection and coagulation, continuous visualization, and intrauterine pressure monitoring; and Resectr Tissue Resection Device, a handheld surgical instrument to enable the hysteroscopic removal and diagnosis of endometrial polyps. Its devices are utilized by obstetrician-gynecologists in various medical treatment settings, including hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, and physician offices. The company was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

About NeuroPace

NeuroPace, Inc. operates as a medical device company in the United States. The company develops RNS system, a brain-responsive neuromodulation system that delivers personalized, real-time treatment at the seizure source for treating medically refractory focal epilepsy. It also records continuous brain activity data and enables clinicians to monitor patients in person and remotely. Its RNS System includes RNS neurostimulator, cortical strip and depth leads, and Patient Remote Monitor, as well as other implantable and non-implantable accessories. The company sells its products to hospital facilities for initial RNS system implant procedures and for replacement procedures. NeuroPace, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.