Critical Contrast: Trinity Biotech (NASDAQ:TRIB) vs. Varex Imaging (NASDAQ:VREX)

Varex Imaging (NASDAQ:VREX) and Trinity Biotech (NASDAQ:TRIB) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, earnings, risk and valuation.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Varex Imaging and Trinity Biotech”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Varex Imaging	$844.60 million	0.92	-$70.30 million	$0.52	35.52
Trinity Biotech	$43.78 million	0.14	-$37.38 million	($44.26)	-0.17

Trinity Biotech has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Varex Imaging. Trinity Biotech is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Varex Imaging, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

79.0% of Trinity Biotech shares are held by institutional investors. 4.6% of Varex Imaging shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.2% of Trinity Biotech shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Varex Imaging and Trinity Biotech’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Varex Imaging	2.55%	9.19%	4.13%
Trinity Biotech	-70.06%	N/A	-32.13%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Varex Imaging and Trinity Biotech, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Varex Imaging	0	7	0	0	2.00
Trinity Biotech	1	0	0	0	1.00

Varex Imaging presently has a consensus price target of $16.88, suggesting a potential downside of 8.64%. Given Varex Imaging’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Varex Imaging is more favorable than Trinity Biotech.

Risk & Volatility

Varex Imaging has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Trinity Biotech has a beta of 0.74, meaning that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Varex Imaging beats Trinity Biotech on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Varex Imaging

Varex Imaging Corporation designs, manufactures, and sells X-ray imaging components. The company operates through two segments, Medical and Industrial. The Medical segment designs, manufactures, sells, and services X-ray imaging components, comprising X-ray tubes, digital detectors and accessories, ionization chambers, high voltage connectors, image-processing software and workstations, 3D reconstruction software, computer-aided diagnostic software, collimators, automatic exposure control devices, generators, and heat exchangers. This segment's products are used in a range of applications, including CT, mammography, oncology, cardiac, surgery, dental, and other diagnostic radiography uses. The Industrial segment designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and services Linatron X-ray linear accelerators, X-ray tubes, digital detectors, high voltage connectors, and coolers for use in security and inspection applications, such as baggage screening at airports, cargo screening at ports and borders, and nondestructive testing, irradiation, and inspection in various applications. The company sells its products through imaging system original equipment manufacturers, independent service companies, and distributors, as well as directly to end-users. It has operations in North America, South America, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, India, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Varex Imaging Corporation was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.

About Trinity Biotech

Trinity Biotech plc acquires, together with its subsidiaries, develops, acquires, manufactures, and markets medical diagnostic products for the clinical laboratory and point-of-care (POC) segments of the diagnostic market in the Americas and Ireland. The company offers clinical laboratory products, including diagnostic tests and instrumentation, which detects infectious diseases; sexually transmitted diseases consisting of syphilis and herpes; SARS-CoV-2; and epstein barr, measles, mumps, toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus, rubella, varicella and other viral pathogens, as well as products for the in-vitro diagnostic testing for haemoglobin A1c used in the monitoring and diagnosis of diabetes, and identifying those who are at a risk of developing diabetes. It also provides laboratory-testing services for Sjogren's syndrome, hearing loss, celiac disease, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis, and other laboratory-testing services for autoimmune disorders. The company develops, manufactures, and sells products in the immunofluorescence assay, enzyme-linked immunosorbent, western blot, and line immunoassay formats; and provides reagent products, such as ACE, bile acids, oxalate, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase for diagnosis of liver and kidney diseases, as well as haemolytic anaemia. It serves public health authorities, non-governmental organisations, and clinical and reference laboratories through its direct sales force, as well as through a network of independent distributors and strategic partners. Trinity Biotech plc was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Bray, Ireland.