Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) versus Codexis (NASDAQ:CDXS) Financial Survey

Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) and Codexis (NASDAQ:CDXS) are both healthcare companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

91.0% of Sotera Health shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.5% of Codexis shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.4% of Sotera Health shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.5% of Codexis shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Sotera Health has a beta of 1.77, meaning that its share price is 77% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Codexis has a beta of 2.54, meaning that its share price is 154% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Sotera Health and Codexis’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sotera Health	13.44%	40.12%	7.55%
Codexis	-39.55%	-74.36%	-23.58%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Sotera Health and Codexis”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sotera Health	$1.16 billion	4.73	$77.94 million	$0.57	33.81
Codexis	$70.39 million	2.47	-$43.97 million	($0.34)	-4.68

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Sotera Health and Codexis, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sotera Health	0	3	8	0	2.73
Codexis	1	1	2	0	2.25

Sotera Health currently has a consensus target price of $21.50, indicating a potential upside of 11.57%. Codexis has a consensus target price of $6.50, indicating a potential upside of 308.81%. Given Codexis’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Codexis is more favorable than Sotera Health.

Summary

Sotera Health beats Codexis on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sotera Health

Sotera Health Company engages in the provision of sterilization, lab testing, and advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Sterigenics, Nordion, and Nelson Labs. It provides mission-critical end-to-end sterilization services, including gamma and electron beam irradiation, and ethylene oxide processing, as well as designs, installs, and maintains gamma irradiation systems. The company also provides microbiological and analytical chemistry testing, as well as technical assistance, regulatory consulting, and advisory services. It serves medical devices, pharmaceuticals, food safety, agricultural products, cancer treatment, and high-performance materials industries, as well as commercial, advanced, and specialty application industries. The company was formerly known as Sotera Health Topco, Inc. and changed its name to Sotera Health Company in October 2020. Sotera Health Company was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in Broadview Heights, Ohio.

About Codexis

Codexis, Inc. discovers, develops, and sells enzymes and other proteins. The company operates through two segments, Performance Enzymes and Novel Biotherapeutics. It offers biocatalyst products and services. The company also provides biocatalyst screening and protein engineering services. In addition, it offers CodeEvolver, a technology platform, which helps in developing and delivering biocatalysts that perform chemical transformations and enhance the efficiency and productivity of manufacturing processes. The company's platform is also used for molecular biology and in vitro diagnostic enzymes. It has a collaboration agreement with Nestlé Health Science to develop CDX-7108 for the treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. The company sells its products to pharmaceutical manufacturers through its direct sales and business development force in the United States and Europe. The company was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Redwood City, California.