Critical Contrast: Schrodinger (NASDAQ:SDGR) versus Claritev (NYSE:CTEV)

Claritev (NYSE:CTEV) and Schrodinger (NASDAQ:SDGR) are both small-cap healthcare companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

87.2% of Claritev shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.0% of Schrodinger shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.4% of Claritev shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.1% of Schrodinger shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Claritev has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Schrodinger has a beta of 1.62, indicating that its stock price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Claritev and Schrodinger, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Claritev	1	2	6	0	2.56
Schrodinger	1	2	4	1	2.62

Claritev presently has a consensus target price of $44.83, indicating a potential upside of 86.96%. Schrodinger has a consensus target price of $23.50, indicating a potential downside of 6.19%. Given Claritev’s higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Claritev is more favorable than Schrodinger.

Profitability

This table compares Claritev and Schrodinger’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Claritev	-28.46%	N/A	-5.76%
Schrodinger	-20.98%	-16.37%	-8.19%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Claritev and Schrodinger”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Claritev	$965.41 million	0.42	-$284.28 million	($17.01)	-1.41
Schrodinger	$255.87 million	7.23	-$103.26 million	($0.74)	-33.85

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

Summary

Schrodinger beats Claritev on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Claritev

MultiPlan Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides data analytics and technology-enabled cost management, payment, and revenue integrity solutions to the healthcare industry in the United States. The company offers analytics-based services that reduce medical costs, through data-driven algorithms and insights that detect claims over-charges and negotiate or recommend reimbursement; and network-based services that provide contracted discounts with healthcare providers, as well as outsourced network development and management services. It provides payment and revenue integrity services, such as identifying and removing improper and unnecessary charges paid during the claim, as well as services to identify and help restore and preserve underpaid premium dollars. In addition, the company offers data and decision science services including a suite of solutions that apply modern methods of data science to produce descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics that drive optimized benefit plan design, support decision-making, improve clinical outcomes, and reduce the total cost of care; and business-to-business healthcare payments and other services. It serves national and regional insurance companies, Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, provider-sponsored and independent health plans, TPAs, self-insured health plans, property and casualty insurers, bill review companies, and other companies involved in the claim adjudication process. MultiPlan Corporation was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

About Schrodinger

Schrödinger, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops physics-based computational platform that enables discovery of novel molecules for drug development and materials applications. The company operates in two segments, Software and Drug Discovery. The Software segment is focused on licensing its software to transform molecular discovery for life sciences and materials science industries. The Drug Discovery segment focuses on building a portfolio of preclinical and clinical programs, internally and through collaborations. The company serves biopharmaceutical and industrial companies, academic institutions, and government laboratories worldwide. Schrödinger, Inc. was incorporated in 1990 and is based in New York, New York.