Varex Imaging (NASDAQ:VREX) vs. Exagen (NASDAQ:XGN) Head to Head Contrast

Exagen (NASDAQ:XGN) and Varex Imaging (NASDAQ:VREX) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

75.3% of Exagen shares are held by institutional investors. 12.6% of Exagen shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Varex Imaging shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Exagen has a beta of 1.58, suggesting that its share price is 58% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Varex Imaging has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Exagen	-27.34%	-133.69%	-34.87%
Varex Imaging	-5.08%	4.91%	2.16%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Exagen and Varex Imaging, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Exagen	0	0	5	0	3.00
Varex Imaging	0	0	1	1	3.50

Exagen presently has a consensus price target of $7.50, indicating a potential upside of 7.14%. Varex Imaging has a consensus price target of $22.50, indicating a potential upside of 210.77%. Given Varex Imaging’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Varex Imaging is more favorable than Exagen.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Exagen and Varex Imaging”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Exagen	$55.64 million	2.68	-$15.11 million	($0.84)	-8.33
Varex Imaging	$811.00 million	0.37	-$47.70 million	($1.03)	-7.03

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

Summary

Varex Imaging beats Exagen on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Exagen

Exagen Inc. develops and commercializes various testing products under the AVISE brand in the United States. The company enables healthcare providers to care for patients through the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of autoimmune and autoimmune-related diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Its lead testing product is AVISE CTD that enables differential diagnosis for patients presenting with symptoms indicative of various connective tissue diseases (CTDs) and other related diseases with overlapping symptoms. The company offers AVISE Lupus that measures activation of the complement system by quantifying the level of B-cell C4d and erythrocyte bound C4d in the patient's blood; and AVISE APS, which consists of a panel of autoantibody tests that aids in the diagnosis and management of APS. In addition, it provides AVISE Vasculitis AAV, which utilizes a testing panel of individual analytes to provide physicians with results in the assessment and monitoring of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody associated vasculitis; AVISE SLE Prognostic, a panel of autoantibodies for assessing the potential for complications affecting the kidney, brain, and cardiovascular system; and AVISE Anti-CarP test, which identifies RA patients with severe disease. Further, the company offers AVISE SLE Monitor, a biomarker blood test; AVISE MTX, a patented and validated blood test; and AVISE HCQ, a blood test to monitor levels of hydroxychloroquine. It has a research collaboration and license agreement with Allegheny Health Network (AHN) Research Institute to develop novel patented biomarkers. The company was formerly known as Exagen Diagnostics, Inc. and changed its name to Exagen Inc. in January 2019. Exagen Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Vista, California.

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.