Financial Survey: Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) vs. Codexis (NASDAQ:CDXS)

Codexis (NASDAQ:CDXS) and Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

78.5% of Codexis shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.1% of Mettler-Toledo International shares are held by institutional investors. 3.5% of Codexis shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Mettler-Toledo International shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Codexis has a beta of 2.52, meaning that its share price is 152% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mettler-Toledo International has a beta of 1.22, meaning that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Codexis and Mettler-Toledo International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Codexis	-39.55%	-74.36%	-23.58%
Mettler-Toledo International	21.91%	-1,212.14%	25.11%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Codexis and Mettler-Toledo International”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Codexis	$77.68 million	1.97	-$43.97 million	($0.34)	-4.10
Mettler-Toledo International	$4.13 billion	6.96	$869.19 million	$44.43	32.31

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Codexis and Mettler-Toledo International, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Codexis	1	1	2	0	2.25
Mettler-Toledo International	1	9	6	0	2.31

Codexis currently has a consensus target price of $6.50, indicating a potential upside of 365.95%. Mettler-Toledo International has a consensus target price of $1,446.36, indicating a potential upside of 0.75%. Given Codexis’ higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Codexis is more favorable than Mettler-Toledo International.

Summary

Mettler-Toledo International beats Codexis on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Mettler-Toledo International

Mettler-Toledo International Inc. manufactures and supplies precision instruments and services in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It operates through five segments: U.S. Operations, Swiss Operations, Western European Operations, Chinese Operations, and Other. The company’s laboratory instruments include laboratory balances, liquid pipetting solutions, automated laboratory reactors, real-time analytics, titrators, pH meters, process analytics sensors and analyzer technologies, physical value analyzers, density and refractometry, thermal analysis systems, and other analytical instruments; and LabX, a laboratory software platform to manage and analyze data generated from its instruments. Its industrial instruments comprise industrial weighing instruments and related terminals, automatic dimensional measurement and data capture solutions, vehicle scale systems, industrial software, metal detection equipment, x-ray systems, check weighing equipment, camera-based imaging equipment, track-and-trace solutions, and product inspection systems. The company’s retail weighing solutions consist of weighing and software solutions, AI-driven image recognition solution, and automated packaging and labelling solutions for the meat backroom. It serves the life science industry, independent research organizations, and testing labs; food and beverage manufacturers; food retailers; chemical, specialty chemical, and cosmetics companies; food retailers; transportation and logistics, metals, and electronics industries; and the academic community through its direct sales force and indirect distribution channels. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. was incorporated in 1991 and is based in Columbus, Ohio.