Head-To-Head Survey: IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) vs. Positron (OTCMKTS:POSC)

IDEXX Laboratories (NASDAQ:IDXX) and Positron (OTCMKTS:POSC) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares IDEXX Laboratories and Positron’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
IDEXX Laboratories	24.62%	69.78%	31.91%
Positron	N/A	-311.50%	-89.54%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.8% of IDEXX Laboratories shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of IDEXX Laboratories shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.2% of Positron shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

IDEXX Laboratories has a beta of 1.67, suggesting that its stock price is 67% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Positron has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for IDEXX Laboratories and Positron, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
IDEXX Laboratories	0	3	7	0	2.70
Positron	0	0	0	0	0.00

IDEXX Laboratories presently has a consensus price target of $783.33, indicating a potential upside of 22.44%. Given IDEXX Laboratories’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe IDEXX Laboratories is more favorable than Positron.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares IDEXX Laboratories and Positron”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
IDEXX Laboratories	$4.30 billion	11.87	$1.06 billion	$13.07	48.95
Positron	$590,000.00	135.55	-$2.39 million	($0.12)	-20.36

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

Summary

IDEXX Laboratories beats Positron on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About IDEXX Laboratories

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. develops, manufactures, and distributes products primarily for the companion animal veterinary, livestock and poultry, dairy, and water testing markets in Africa, the Asia Pacific, Canada, Europe, Latin America, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Companion Animal Group; Water Quality Products; and Livestock, Poultry and Dairy. It also provides point-of-care veterinary diagnostic products, including instruments, consumables, and rapid assay test kits; veterinary reference laboratory diagnostic and consulting services; practice management and diagnostic imaging systems and services for veterinarians; and health monitoring, biological materials testing, and laboratory diagnostic instruments, and services for biomedical research community. In addition, the company offers diagnostic and health-monitoring products for livestock, poultry, and dairy; products that test water for various microbiological contaminants; point-of-care electrolytes and blood gas analyzers; in-clinic chemistry, blood and urine chemistry, hematology, immunoassay, urinalysis, and coagulation analyzers; and SNAP rapid assays test kits. Further, it provides Colilert, Colilert-18, and Colisure tests, which detect the presence of total coliforms and E. coli in water; Enterolert, Pseudalert, Filta-Max and Filta-Max xpress, Legiolert, and Quanti-Tray products; and veterinary software and services for independent veterinary clinics and corporate groups. Additionally, the company offers human medical point-of-care products and laboratory diagnostics services. The company markets its products through marketing, customer service, sales, and technical service groups, as well as through independent distributors and other resellers. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Westbrook, Maine.

About Positron

Positron Corporation, a nuclear medicine healthcare company, specializes in the business of cardiac positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in the United States. It offers attrius PET scanner, clinical and technical services, and financing solutions enables healthcare providers to accurately diagnose cardiac disease, improve patient outcomes, and practice cost effective medicines. Positron Corporation was incorporated in 1983 and is based in Niagara Falls, New York.