Analyzing Milestone Scientific (MLSS) and Its Peers

Milestone Scientific (NYSE:MLSS) is one of 511 publicly-traded companies in the “Healthcare Equipment & Supplies” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Milestone Scientific to similar companies based on the strength of its profitability, earnings, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Milestone Scientific and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Milestone Scientific	0	0	1	0	3.00
Milestone Scientific Competitors	4279	10550	18327	829	2.46

Milestone Scientific currently has a consensus target price of $1.00, suggesting a potential upside of 231.13%. As a group, “Healthcare Equipment & Supplies” companies have a potential upside of 21.33%. Given Milestone Scientific’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Milestone Scientific is more favorable than its competitors.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

5.8% of Milestone Scientific shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.5% of shares of all “Healthcare Equipment & Supplies” companies are held by institutional investors. 9.2% of Milestone Scientific shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 14.8% of shares of all “Healthcare Equipment & Supplies” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Milestone Scientific and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Milestone Scientific	-52.01%	-60.26%	-40.23%
Milestone Scientific Competitors	-305.24%	-170.58%	-22.05%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Milestone Scientific and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Milestone Scientific	$9.42 million	-$6.93 million	-7.55
Milestone Scientific Competitors	$1.89 billion	$138.79 million	10.34

Milestone Scientific’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Milestone Scientific. Milestone Scientific is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Risk and Volatility

Milestone Scientific has a beta of 1.14, indicating that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Milestone Scientific’s competitors have a beta of 2.55, indicating that their average stock price is 155% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Milestone Scientific competitors beat Milestone Scientific on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

Milestone Scientific Company Profile

Milestone Scientific Inc., a biomedical technology research and development company, patents, designs, develops, and commercializes diagnostic and therapeutic injection technologies, and devices for medical, dental, and cosmetic use in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates through Dental and Medical segments. Its products include CompuDent and STA Single Tooth Anesthesia System that are used for all dental procedures that require local anesthetic. In addition, the company offers CompuFlo, a computer-controlled drug delivery system for the painless delivery of drugs, anesthetics, and other medicaments, as well as for the aspiration of bodily fluids or previously injected substances, and disposable injection handpiece for the tactile control during the injection. Further, it provides CompuFlo Epidural, a computer-controlled anesthesia system for use in various medical applications. Additionally, the company offers company offers CompuMed for use in various medical procedures performed in plastic, hair restoration, and colorectal surgery, as well as podiatry, dermatology, orthopedics, and various other disciplines. Milestone Scientific Inc. was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Roseland, New Jersey.